Proverbs 5:6
in Proverbs 5She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and she knoweth it not.
KJV
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
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This verse in Proverbs 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHer ways are unstable, etc. The ways of heretical deception are unstable, because some deny Christ to be God, others to be man; some deny he took flesh, others a soul; some that he was born of a virgin; some that the Holy Spirit, others …
This site's exposition
pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight
on Proverbs 5:1-6
The son is told to “maintain discretion” before the warning names its subject, because the danger of “the forbidden woman” begins with pleasant speech. Her end reverses her opening, “bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword,” a taste that shows only after the sweet one has worked.
This site's exposition
her ways are unstable
Her ways are unstable tracks that wander with no fixed line. Bede applies the verse to heresy, whose ways shift from one denial of Christ to another. The path of life lies unconsidered while her feet go down to death.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
her ways . . . know--Some prefer, "that she may not ponder the path of life," &c.; but perhaps a better sense is, "her ways are varied, so as to prevent your knowledge of her true character, and so of true happiness." 8, 9.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Lest thou shouldest ponder - To prevent thee from reflecting on thy present conduct, and its consequences, her ways are moveable - she continually varies her allurements. Thou canst not know them - It is impossible to conceive all her tricks and wiles: to learn these in all their varieties, is a part of the science first taught in that infernal trade.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Or (with the Septuagint and Vulgate), Lest she should ponder (or “She ponders not”) the way of life, her paths move to and fro (unsteady as an earthquake); she knows not. The words describe with a terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution brings upon its victims; the reckless blindness that will not think, tottering on the abyss, yet loud in its defiant mirth, ignoring the dreadful future.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹ֣רַח | ʾorach | [the] path of | H734 → | 58 times |
| חַ֭יִּים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תְּפַלֵּ֑ס | tefales | she should make level | H6424 → | 6 times |
| נָע֥וּ | nau | they wander | H5128 → | |
| מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָ | ma'geloteiha | tracks her | H4570 → | 16 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵדָֽע׃ פ | teda' | she knows | H3045 → | 945 times |
אֹ֣רַח[the] path of
ʾorachH734 →58 times
חַ֭יִּיםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תְּפַלֵּ֑סshe should make level
tefalesH6424 →6 times
נָע֥וּthey wander
nauH5128 →
מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָtracks her
ma'geloteihaH4570 →16 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵדָֽע׃ פshe knows
teda'H3045 →945 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
Psalms 16:11You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
it leads to
- Acts 2:28
You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Psalms 36:7–8
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Revelation 7:15–17
For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
- Ephesians 3:19
of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
- Acts 2:28
Through
Proverbs 4:26Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:13
Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
- Psalms 37:23
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
- Psalms 119:5
Oh, that my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes!
- Hebrews 12:13
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; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.