Proverbs 23:27 kjv

For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

Proverbs 23:27 nkjv

For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.

Proverbs 23:27 niv

for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

Proverbs 23:27 esv

For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.

Proverbs 23:27 nlt

A prostitute is a dangerous trap;
a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.

Proverbs 23 verses

Proverbs 23 27 Meaning

Proverbs 23:27 serves as a severe warning against sexual immorality. It vividly describes illicit sexual relationships, represented by the "harlot" and the "strange woman," as dangerous traps. These "traps" — a deep ditch and a narrow pit — signify the inescapable, destructive, and ruinous consequences that engulf those who fall prey to such temptations, leading to profound spiritual, social, and personal degradation.

Proverbs 23 27 Context

Proverbs 23 forms part of a collection of wise sayings, often presented as a father's instruction to his son. This chapter offers practical advice on various aspects of life, including dining with rulers (v. 1-8), land boundaries (v. 10-11), discipline of children (v. 13-14), joy in wise children (v. 15-16, 24-25), and crucially, warnings against drunkenness (v. 29-35) and immoral women. Verse 27 specifically amplifies the warning against the "strange woman" previously addressed in Proverbs, underscoring the severe and inescapable consequences of sexual sin. It stands as a powerful deterrent, building on the thematic warnings common throughout the Book of Proverbs regarding sexual purity. The historical context reflects a society where societal purity and family lineage were highly valued, and where the allure of illicit sexual encounters, often associated with cultic prostitution or casual indiscretions, posed significant threats to an individual's spiritual standing, family honor, health, and economic stability. The language of traps speaks to a common experience in ancient Israel where pits were dug for wells or cisterns but also as animal traps.

Proverbs 23 27 Word analysis

• For (כִּי, ki): Introduces the reason or explanation for the preceding counsel, emphasizing the dangerous reality of what is about to be described. In Proverbs, "for" often precedes a strong warning or an elucidating proverb.

• a harlot (זוֹנָה, zonah):

  • Meaning: Literally, a prostitute, one who offers sexual services for hire.
  • Significance: This term signifies open, commercialized, and readily accessible illicit sex. It denotes someone who transgresses societal and divine sexual boundaries as a profession, embodying a readily apparent and understood danger. It represents a source of direct moral corruption and often financial ruin.

• is a deep (עֲמֻקָּה, amuqqah):

  • Meaning: Deep, profound.
  • Significance: Used descriptively, indicating that the danger is not superficial or easily overcome. It suggests a snare from which escape is arduous, implying profound difficulty in reversing the effects or extricating oneself once trapped.

• ditch (שׁוּחָה, shuchah):

  • Meaning: A pit, hole, or grave. Often used metaphorically for destruction or ruin.
  • Significance: Evokes an image of a trap dug in the ground, designed to ensnare. It's a place one falls into unexpectedly or through carelessness, leading to physical confinement and potentially death or great harm. It highlights the unavoidable and suffocating nature of the consequences of harlotry.

• and a strange woman (וְזָרָה, v'zarah, from נָכְרִיָּה, nakriyya used in related Proverbs):

  • Meaning: "Strange" or "foreign woman." Contextually, this refers not merely to ethnicity but to one who is not one's wife, implying a morally alien or unchaste woman who seduces a man away from covenant fidelity.
  • Significance: While "harlot" points to open prostitution, the "strange woman" (also called zarah or nakriyya in Proverbs) encompasses any seductress, including one who secretly entices a man into adultery. Her allure is deceptive, often veiled. She represents a deviation from God's established order for marriage and often, a path to idolatry (spiritual harlotry).

• is a narrow (צָרָה, tsarah):

  • Meaning: Narrow, tight, restricted, distressed.
  • Significance: Emphasizes the confining and oppressive nature of the pit. Once trapped, the limited space exacerbates the difficulty of escape, symbolizing increased distress and lack of freedom caused by entanglement in sin.

• pit (בְּאֵר, b'er):

  • Meaning: A well, cistern, or pit.
  • Significance: Reinforces the imagery of an inescapable trap. While a "ditch" might be an accidental fall, a "pit" can imply a deeper, perhaps more concealed, or deliberately constructed trap. Like a well, one might willingly approach it, unaware of its true peril.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "For a harlot is a deep ditch": This phrase directly associates engaging with a harlot with falling into a perilous, hard-to-escape trap. The depth emphasizes the profound consequences, which are not easily reversed or survived. The "ditch" signifies a sudden, engulfing danger that one might stumble into.

• "and a strange woman is a narrow pit": This parallel reinforces the danger. While the "harlot" represents an overt snare, the "strange woman" embodies a more insidious or intimate form of sexual temptation (adultery, illicit affairs) which, though perhaps appearing more personal or secretive, is equally—if not more—confining and ruinous. The "narrow pit" accentuates the inescapable and suffocating confinement of the consequences once one is ensnared.

Proverbs 23 27 Bonus section

The strong parallel structure (synthetic parallelism) in this verse—comparing the harlot to a deep ditch and the strange woman to a narrow pit—reinforces the message by presenting the same truth from two slightly different angles, intensifying the warning. The "deep ditch" emphasizes profound, unrecoverable consequences, while the "narrow pit" highlights the suffocating, inescapable confinement. In some ancient contexts, pits and ditches were used not only as traps but also as refuse pits or graves, subtly hinting at the vile and ultimately deathly outcome of such illicit pursuits. The recurrent warnings against the "strange woman" throughout Proverbs (Pro 2, 5, 7, 22) reveal that sexual purity was a pervasive concern in Israelite wisdom, recognizing its power to undermine the individual, the family, and the community. This specific verse draws a direct causal link: choosing illicit sexuality is choosing to enter a life-destroying trap.

Proverbs 23 27 Commentary

Proverbs 23:27 is a potent, illustrative warning against the seductive and ultimately destructive power of illicit sexual relationships. Using two distinct but related terms for women involved in such acts – the "harlot" and the "strange woman" – the verse casts their influence not merely as morally compromising, but as physically dangerous traps: a "deep ditch" and a "narrow pit."

The "harlot" signifies open, commercialized promiscuity, whose ruinous path (often economic and reputational) is well-known in society. Falling for her represents a significant and public decline, a "deep ditch" from which recovery is exceptionally difficult due to its profound consequences. The "strange woman," often an adulteress or someone luring one away from commitment, signifies a more insidious danger. Her appeal can be subtle, deceptive, leading one into a "narrow pit"—a trap that might initially appear less obvious but is ultimately more suffocating and confining in its grip, leading to personal shame, family discord, and spiritual defilement.

Together, these metaphors underscore that all forms of sexual impurity are inescapable traps that lead to destruction. There is no easy escape from the physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational consequences—shame, broken trust, ruined reputation, financial loss, disease, and most critically, estrangement from God. The proverbs frequently emphasize that once entrapped by sexual sin, it is an exceedingly difficult path to return, leading often to utter ruin. The call of wisdom, therefore, is to avoid these dangerous paths entirely, recognizing their true nature as deceptive and deadly snares.