The Meaning of Proverbs 2:16 Explained

Proverbs 2:16

KJV: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

YLT: To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,

Darby: To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;

ASV: To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To deliver  thee from the strange  woman,  [even] from the stranger  [which] flattereth  with her words; 

What does Proverbs 2:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 2:1-22 - Wisdom Guards From Evil
Several words are reiterated in this chapter, which will unlock its treasures. Understanding, Proverbs 2:2-3; Proverbs 2:5; Proverbs 2:9; Proverbs 2:11. If wisdom is a moral quality, leading to intuitive knowledge, understanding may be taken to include something of a prophetic strain. Understanding gathers up and makes use of the results of observation and experience, whether of oneself or of others.
Notice also the word walk, Proverbs 2:7; Proverbs 2:13; way, Proverbs 2:8; Proverbs 2:12-13; Proverbs 2:15; Proverbs 2:20; paths, Proverbs 2:8; Proverbs 2:13; Proverbs 2:15; Proverbs 2:18-20. See how eager the Divine Teacher is (l) to deliver the unwary from the way of the evil man, Proverbs 2:12, and from the way of the evil woman, Proverbs 2:16; and (2) to direct the feet of the young into the ways of the good and into the paths of the righteous, Proverbs 2:20. The path of safety and permanence is that in which we are perpetually conscious of the presence of the Master, Christ. He is the unseen companion of the soul in its difficult and perilous pilgrimage; and we may, in that companionship, appropriate the buckler of Proverbs 2:7, the integrity of Proverbs 2:8, and the stability of Proverbs 2:21. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 2

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

What do the individual words in Proverbs 2:16 mean?

to deliver you from immoral the woman from the seductress with her words [who] flatters
לְ֭הַצִּ֣ילְךָ מֵאִשָּׁ֣ה זָרָ֑ה מִ֝נָּכְרִיָּ֗ה אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ הֶחֱלִֽיקָה

לְ֭הַצִּ֣ילְךָ  to  deliver  you 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
מֵאִשָּׁ֣ה  from  immoral 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
זָרָ֑ה  the  woman 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: זוּר 
Sense: to be strange, be a stranger.
מִ֝נָּכְרִיָּ֗ה  from  the  seductress 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: נָכְרִי  
Sense: foreign, alien.
אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ  with  her  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אֵמֶר 
Sense: utterance, speech, word, saying, promise, command.
הֶחֱלִֽיקָה  [who]  flatters 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָלַק 
Sense: to divide, share, plunder, allot, apportion, assign.