Commentary - Proverbs 2:12-19

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, Solomon lays out the protective power of wisdom. Having established that wisdom comes from the Lord (Prov. 2:6), he now describes what this wisdom accomplishes in the life of the one who receives it. It is a deliverance, a rescue operation. The world is full of snares, and a young man in particular faces two archetypal temptations that seek to divert him from the path of life. The first is the company of perverse men, and the second is the allure of the adulterous woman. Both are peddlers of death, wrapped in attractive packaging. Wisdom is the divine security detail that God provides for His sons, enabling them to recognize and refuse these invitations to the grave.

The structure is straightforward. First, wisdom delivers you from the corrupting influence of wicked men (vv. 12-15). Their character is described by their twisted words, their abandonment of righteousness, their delight in evil, and their crooked lifestyles. Second, wisdom delivers you from the seductive trap of the strange woman (vv. 16-19). Her character is revealed by her flattering words, her abandonment of her husband, and her forgetfulness of her covenant with God. Both paths lead to the same destination: death. The warning is stark and clear. This is not theoretical knowledge; this is street-level spiritual warfare.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

This section is a direct continuation of the argument that began in Proverbs 2:1. The chapter starts with an appeal for the son to receive his father's words and cry out for understanding. The promise is that if you seek wisdom, the Lord will give it. Verses 12-19 are the practical payoff of that promise. This is what the wisdom from God does. It is not an abstract philosophy but a functional shield. These verses fit squarely within the larger theme of Proverbs 1-9, which contrasts two ways: the way of wisdom, life, and the Lord, versus the way of folly, death, and the "strangers" who entice men away from God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

Deliverance from the Way of Evil, vv. 12-15

v. 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things;

The first benefit of wisdom is deliverance. It is a rescue. The "way of evil" is a path, a road one walks. It is a lifestyle with a destination. The first character we meet on this road is the man who speaks "perverse things." The Hebrew word here for perverse means twisted, turned upside down. This is not just a man who tells lies; this is a man whose entire way of thinking is a distortion of God's reality. He calls evil good and good evil. His speech is the primary tool he uses to recruit others to his path. All rebellion begins with perverse words, just as it did in the Garden with the serpent.

v. 13 From those who forsake the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

This is a willful abandonment. These men were not born in the dark and never saw the light. They "forsake" the paths of uprightness. They knew the straight path, the right way, and they deliberately chose to leave it. This is apostasy. Their choice is to exchange the well-lit path of righteousness for the "ways of darkness." The imagery is potent. Darkness is where you cannot see, where you stumble, where crimes are committed, where things are hidden and shameful. It is a realm of moral and spiritual blindness.

v. 14 Who are glad to do evil And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;

Here we see the depth of their corruption. Sin is no longer a guilty pleasure for them; it is an open celebration. They are "glad to do evil." Their consciences have been seared and their affections have been completely reordered. More than that, they "rejoice in the perversity of evil." They take delight in the very twistedness of it. They find blasphemy witty. They laugh at corruption. They celebrate what God condemns. This is the endpoint of forsaking the path of uprightness: a heart that loves the darkness.

v. 15 Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their tracks;

Their life reflects their heart. Because their thinking is twisted, their paths are "crooked." Nothing about them is straightforward. They are schemers, manipulators, and liars. Their tracks are "devious," meaning they are skilled at covering their movements and intentions. You cannot build anything solid with such a man, for he is fundamentally unreliable. His entire life is a labyrinth of deceit that leads to ruin.

Deliverance from the Strange Woman, vv. 16-19

v. 16 To deliver you from the strange woman, From the foreign woman who flatters with her words;

Wisdom provides a second deliverance, this time from the "strange woman." The word "strange" or "foreign" does not necessarily refer to her nationality, but rather to her allegiance. She is a foreigner to the covenant of God. She operates by a different set of rules, a different worldview. Her primary weapon, like the evil man's, is her words. But where he uses perverse words to twist the mind, she uses flattering words to seduce the heart. Flattery is counterfeit praise designed to manipulate. It tells you what you want to hear about yourself in order to get something from you.

v. 17 Who forsakes the close companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;

Here is the root of her strangeness. She is a covenant-breaker. She has forsaken her husband, the "companion of her youth." The marriage bond, established in innocence and youth, has been betrayed. This is not just a personal failure; it is a theological one. She "forgets the covenant of her God." Marriage is not merely a social contract between two people; it is a covenant made before God. Her adultery against her husband is the direct result of her prior adultery against God. She has forgotten Him, and so all other loyalties dissolve.

v. 18 For her house sinks down to death And her tracks descend to the dead;

The invitation to her house is an invitation to the grave. The imagery is of a house built on a sinkhole. It "sinks down to death." To enter her door is to begin a descent from which there is no easy return. Her "tracks," the path she walks, do not lead to a vibrant life, but "descend to the dead," to Sheol. The pleasure she offers is a bait, and the hook is death. This is the unvarnished truth about sexual sin outside the covenant of marriage. It is a path that leads downward.

v. 19 All who go to her will not return, And they will not reach the paths of life.

Solomon ends with a terrifyingly stark warning. This is not a casual detour. The nature of this sin is that it entangles and captures. "All who go to her will not return." This is a statement about the natural consequence and the spiritual gravity of this sin. It fundamentally alters a man's trajectory. Of course, the gospel of Jesus Christ makes a way for the repentant to return from any sin. But the warning here must be taken with absolute seriousness. If you choose her path, you are choosing to leave the "paths of life." You cannot walk in two opposite directions at once. The grip of sexual sin is profound, and to treat it lightly is the height of folly.

Application

The wisdom described here is ultimately found in a person: the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who delivers us from the way of evil, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The world is still full of perverse men and strange women, but their tactics have not changed. They still use twisted words and flattering words to lead people to destruction.

The application for us is to cling to Christ, who is the wisdom of God. We must fill our minds with His Word, so that we can recognize the perverse speech of our age for what it is. We must learn to detect and reject flattery, which preys on our pride. And we must understand that all of life is covenantal. Faithfulness to God is demonstrated in our faithfulness to the covenants He has established, chief among them marriage.

For the young man, this means fleeing sexual temptation as a man fleeing a house on fire. It means recognizing that the strange woman of Proverbs is alive and well on our computer screens and billboards. Deliverance comes not by our own cleverness, but by crying out to God for the wisdom that He promises to give generously. That wisdom will guard your heart, protect your path, and lead you to life.