Proverbs 5:23
in Proverbs 5He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
KJV
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
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This verse in Proverbs 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The end of the sensual life: to “die without instruction,” life ended, but the discipline of life fruitless; to “go astray,” as if drunk with the greatness of his folly (the same word is used as for “ravished” in Pro 5:19, see marg.), even to the end. This is the close of what might have gone on brightening to the perfect day Pro 4:18.
This site's exposition
embrace the bosom of a stranger
on Proverbs 5:20-23
The father's question, “Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress,” borrows the word given to married love and turns it against misdirected desire. In the last verses “the cords of his sin entangle him,” sin's own discipline, the trap a man ties for himself.
This site's exposition
He dies for lack of discipline
Lack of discipline is the end of the man who hated discipline in verse 12. Albert Barnes sets that end beside 4:18, the path that could have grown brighter until midday. Folly has the last word.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomCOMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 5:23 · Written before 407.
proposed
"He will perish here with those who have no discipline; and he will be driven out of the abundance of his fatness." One who becomes the prey of sin and lacks discipline will experience the same things. Indeed the one who consorts with murderers becomes a murderer. See what bitter kind of death he [Solomon] designates when he says that he [the wicked person] will die with such companions. It is indeed horrible to depart from life with a bad reputation. Depravity—what he [Solomon] calls "fatness"—multiplies so that the flesh is destroyed completely by the works of flesh, keeping one away from the very kind of life that could save him. He [the wicked person] perishes because of imprudence, not because of lustful desires: he had a legitimate means to satisfy his desire, that is, his wife. Therefore nobody is allowed to accuse nature, but only human intemperance which is not proper to nature.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He will die because he lacked discipline, etc. Because he had disputed much about adulterers or heretics, as is his custom, he shows in the close of his narrative what the end of such people is; that is, they tend towards eternal death, who have …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Die - He shall die in his sins. Astray-From the way of life, and from eternal salvation.
He shall die without instruction,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
4 , Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. It is a sin which men with great difficulty shake off the power of. When the sinner is old and weak his lusts are strong and active, in calling to remembrance the days of his youth, Ezek. xxiii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He shall die without instruction - This is most likely, and it is a general case; but even these may repent and live.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֗וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָ֭מוּת | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בְּאֵ֣ין | beein | for not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מוּסָ֑ר | musar | discipline | H4148 → | 50 times |
| וּבְרֹ֖ב | uvero | and in [the] greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| אִוַּלְתּ֣וֹ | ʾivalto | foolishness his | H200 → | 25 times |
| יִשְׁגֶּֽה׃ פ | yishgeh | he will go astray | H7686 → | 21 times |
ה֗וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יָ֭מוּתhe will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
בְּאֵ֣יןfor not
beeinH369 →789 times
מוּסָ֑רdiscipline
musarH4148 →50 times
וּבְרֹ֖בand in [the] greatness of
uveroH7230 →149 times
אִוַּלְתּ֣וֹfoolishness his
ʾivaltoH200 →25 times
יִשְׁגֶּֽה׃ פhe will go astray
yishgehH7686 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 10:21The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
it leads to
- Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
- Proverbs 17:16
Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?
- Proverbs 1:29
For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
- Job 4:3–4
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- Hosea 4:6
Through
Proverbs 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
Through
Job 36:12But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
it leads to
- Job 4:21
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
- Job 4:21
Through
Job 4:21Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
it leads to
- Job 36:12
But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
- Job 36:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 5:23; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.