Bible Strands
Proverbs 5:22
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses a listener under the immediate context of divine examination (Proverbs 5:21) and impending ruin from folly (Proverbs 5:23), framing the verse as a direct observation of moral cause and effect.
The words — חַבְלֵי (chav.Lei) renders as "cords of," and יִלְכְּדֻנ֥וֹ (yil.ke.du.N/o) means "they will seize," both describing the mechanism of entrapment.
The thread — This pattern of self-generated consequence recurs in Proverbs 1:31, Proverbs 11:5, and Numbers 32:23.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that one's own actions construct the very constraints that will later restrict freedom, requiring immediate course correction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 1:31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
- Numbers 32:23 But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.
- Psalms 9:15 The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- Proverbs 1:18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.
- Hosea 4:11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding.
- Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Psalms 7:15 He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the faithless destroys them.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.