Proverbs 5:6

She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The father addresses his sons in a moment of urgent moral warning, placing the verse between a description of the adulteress's fatal route and a direct command to obey his teaching.

The words — The text highlights אֹרַח ('O.rach), meaning "path," and חַיִּים (Chai.yim), meaning "life," to name the route the woman ignores. It pairs תְּפַלֵּס (te.fa.Les), "she should make level," with נָעוּ (na.'U), "they wander," to contrast deliberate stability with uncontrolled drifting.

The thread — The motif of a measured, secure route appears in Proverbs 4:26, which commands making a level path for one's feet. The exact phrase "path of life" also occurs in Psalms 16:11 as a divine revelation, while Proverbs 5:21 reinforces the theme by stating the LORD examines all human paths.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that ignoring the route to life guarantees instability. It demands a deliberate choice to align one's steps with a fixed course rather than following an unexamined one.

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

אֹ֣רַח'O.rach[the] path of חַ֭יִּיםChai.yimlife פֶּן־pen-lest תְּפַלֵּ֑סte.fa.Lesshe should make level נָע֥וּna.'Uthey wander מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָma'.ge.lo.Tei./hatracks/ her לֹ֣אlo'not תֵדָֽע׃ פte.Da'she knows

King James Version

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

Cross-references

Proverbs 4:26 Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
Psalms 16:11 You 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.
Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
Psalms 119:59 I considered my ways and turned my steps to Your testimonies.
Proverbs 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
Proverbs 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
Proverbs 7:10 Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
Proverbs 11:19 Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,