Proverbs 2:18
New International Version
Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

New Living Translation
Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.

English Standard Version
for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;

Berean Standard Bible
For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.

King James Bible
For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

New King James Version
For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;

New American Standard Bible
For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;

NASB 1995
For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead;

NASB 1977
For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;

Legacy Standard Bible
For her house sinks down to death And her tracks descend to the dead;

Amplified Bible
For her house leads down to death And her paths lead to the dead;

Christian Standard Bible
for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.

American Standard Version
For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead;

Contemporary English Version
The road to her house leads down to the dark world of the dead.

English Revised Version
For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Her house sinks down to death. Her ways lead to the souls of the dead.

Good News Translation
If you go to her house, you are traveling the road to death. To go there is to approach the world of the dead.

International Standard Version
For her house leads down to death, and her paths down to the realm of the dead.

Majority Standard Bible
For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.

NET Bible
For her house sinks down to death, and her paths lead to the place of the departed spirits.

New Heart English Bible
for her house leads down to death, her paths to the dead.

Webster's Bible Translation
For her house inclineth to death, and her paths to the dead.

World English Bible
for her house leads down to death, her paths to the departed spirits.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For her house has inclined to death, "" And her paths to Rephaim.

Young's Literal Translation
For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.

Smith's Literal Translation
For her house sunk down to death, and her tracks to the shades.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and who has forgotten the covenant of her God. For her household inclines toward death, and her paths toward Hell.

New American Bible
For her path sinks down to death, and her footsteps lead to the shades.

New Revised Standard Version
for her way leads down to death, and her paths to the shades;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For she has forgotten the threshold of her house and the way of her paths.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
She has forgotten the doorposts of her house and the steps of her paths.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For her house sinketh down unto death, And her paths unto the shades;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For she has fixed her house near death, and guided her wheels near Hades with the giants.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Benefits of Wisdom
17who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. 18For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. 19None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.…

Cross References
Proverbs 5:5
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

Proverbs 7:27
Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

Revelation 2:20-23
But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. / Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling. / Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. ...

Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. / But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Proverbs 9:18
But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Proverbs 7:25-26
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. / For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.

Revelation 17:1-6
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. / The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.” / And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ...

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Proverbs 6:26
For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

Proverbs 23:27-28
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. / Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.

2 Peter 2:1-3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. / Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. / In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

Isaiah 57:9
You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.

Jeremiah 51:6-8
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves. / Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad. / Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.

Ezekiel 23:17
Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. But after she had been defiled by them, she turned away in disgust.

Romans 6:21-23
What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. / But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. / For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Treasury of Scripture

For her house inclines to death, and her paths to the dead.

Proverbs 5:4-14
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword…

Proverbs 6:26-35
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life…

Proverbs 7:22-27
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; …

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Proverbs 2
1. wisdom promises godliness to her children
10. and safety from evil company
20. and direction in good ways














For her house
The phrase "for her house" refers to the dwelling or domain of the adulterous or immoral woman, as described in the preceding verses. In Hebrew, "house" (בַּיִת, bayit) often symbolizes not just a physical structure but also a household or a way of life. In the context of Proverbs, it represents the seductive allure of sin and the false security it promises. Historically, a house was a place of refuge and safety, but here it is ironically depicted as a place leading to destruction.

sinks down to death
The imagery of "sinks down to death" is vivid and foreboding. The Hebrew word for "sinks" (שָׁחָה, shachah) conveys a sense of being brought low or humbled. This phrase warns of the inevitable consequence of following the path of immorality, which is spiritual and sometimes physical death. In the biblical context, death is not just the cessation of life but a separation from God, the source of life. The wisdom literature often contrasts the way of life with the way of death, urging the reader to choose life by adhering to God's commandments.

and her tracks
The term "tracks" (מַעְגְּלוֹת, ma'agalot) refers to the paths or ways one follows. In ancient times, paths were well-trodden routes that guided travelers to their destinations. Here, it symbolizes the habitual actions and decisions that lead one away from righteousness. The use of "tracks" suggests a deliberate and repeated choice to follow a certain way, emphasizing the importance of the paths we choose in life.

to the departed spirits
The phrase "to the departed spirits" (רְפָאִים, rephaim) refers to the shades or spirits of the dead, often associated with Sheol, the abode of the dead in Hebrew thought. This term evokes a sense of finality and hopelessness, as the rephaim are depicted as powerless and cut off from the living. In the broader scriptural context, this serves as a stark warning about the spiritual consequences of sin, which leads to a state of separation from God and the community of the living. The imagery underscores the gravity of moral choices and the ultimate destiny of those who reject wisdom.

(18) For her house inclineth . . .--Rather, she sinks down with her house: house and all, like Dathan and Abiram.

Unto the dead.--In Hebrew the Reph?im. The word may signify those "at rest" (comp. Job 3:17 : "There the weary are at rest"); or the "weak." (Comp. Isaiah 14:10 : "Art thou also become weak as we?")

Verse 18. - For her house inclineth unto death; rather, she sinks down to death together with her house (Bottcher, Delitzsch). The objection to the Authorized Version is that it does not tbllow the construction of the original, the verb "sinks down" (שָׁחָה, shakhah) being feminine, while "house" (בָיִת, bayith) is invariably masculine. Aben Ezra translates, "She sinks down to death, (which is to be) her house;" but it seems better to regard "her house" as an adjunct of the strange woman. Her house includes all who belong to her. She and they are involved in the same fate. The Authorized Version is evidently influenced by the Vulgate, Inclinata est enim ad mortem domus ejus, "For her house is inclined to death." The LXX. gives a different rendering, Ἕθετο γὰρ παρὰ τῷ θανάτῳ τὸν οϊκον αὐτῆς, "For she hath placed her house beside death." So the Arabic. The "for" (כִּי, ki) refers back to ver. 16, and indicates how great is the deliverance effected by wisdom. The meaning of the passage is aptly illustrated by Proverbs 7:27, "Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." And her paths unto the dead. The dead (רְפָאִים, r'phaim) are properly the quiet, or the feeble. They are the shadowy inhabitants or shades of Hades, the inferi of the Vulgate, and are here put for Sheol itself. Compare the ἔδωλα καμνόντων of Homer, and the umbrae, "shades," of Virgil. The word occurs again in Proverbs 9:18; Proverbs 21:16; and in Psalm 88:11; Isaiah 26:14, 19; Job 26:5.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

her house
בֵּיתָ֑הּ (bê·ṯāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

sinks down
שָׁ֣חָה (šā·ḥāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7743: To sink down

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

death,
מָ֣וֶת (mā·weṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4194: Death, the dead, their place, state, pestilence, ruin

and her tracks
מַעְגְּלֹתֶֽיהָ׃ (ma‘·gə·lō·ṯe·hā)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4570: An entrenchment, track

to
וְאֶל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the departed spirits.
רְ֝פָאִ֗ים (rə·p̄ā·’îm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7496: Shades, ghosts


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 2:18 For her house leads down to death (Prov. Pro Pr)
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