Proverbs 13

Lesson 13 of 28

17. GREEDINESS

We have read about men who were greedy about things belonging to others, Proverbs 1.19, and the New Testament warns us about being greedy for money or anything else, -

Proverbs 1:19 - So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Luke 12.15 - And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Romans 1.29 - Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Ephesians 5.5 - For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Colossians 3.5 - Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

2 Peter 2.3 - And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

In Proverbs we are warned against being greedy for food. God has provided food which our bodies require, but some people do not have enough to eat, others have more than they need. We should not be greedy or eat more than necessary. It is bad for our health and we should think of others who are hungry.

Proverbs 25:16 - Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. - In the country you may find a nest of bees full of honey, like Samson or Jonathan, - And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcas e of the lion Judges 14:8 and - And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 1 Samuel 14:25. The honey is sweet, - My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: Proverbs 24:13, and a greedy person would eat more than enough, until it makes him sick, - It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. Proverbs 25:27.

Proverbs 21:17 - He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. - You must buy most of the food you eat and those who love pleasure spend more money than is necessary. Rich people can buy many luxuries which they want but do not need. Other greedy people spend more than they should on such things.

Proverbs 23:1-2 - When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite - Greediness is especially bad when you are invited to have a meal with some important person. Some people might think that it would be a good opportunity to get a good meal and eat a great deal. This would not be good manners.

Proverbs 23:3 - Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, a nd instruction, and understanding. - It is worse still if you are offered fancy food to persuade you to do something wrong. Anyway we should not be greedy for the luxuries of the world, food or clothing or anything else. The Lord has promised to supply everything we really need, Matthew 6.32 - (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, but not everything we may desire.

Proverbs 23:6-8 - Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eat en shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. - The same chapter has more advice for us about eating with people who are not sincere. A man may pretend to be kind to you and offer you plenty of fancy food. In his heart he is really not willing to give you anything. If the food is bad you may throw it up again. You should thank anyone who gives you a good meal, but in this case you may be wasting your words.

You can often know what a person is really like by looking right in his eye. We read about the eye of a generous person in Proverbs 22:9 - He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Some people show by their eyes that they are proud, Proverbs 6:17- A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, others that they are laughing at you, Proverbs 30:17 - The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it, or that they are greedy for more, Ecclesiastes 4.8 - There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

What you are in your heart is what you really are. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” We should be careful what we think about. You say what you have been thinking, you do what you talk about, and your actions form your character. From the beginning God has judged men’s thoughts, Genesis 6.5 - And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. We will also be judged for our words and actions, Matthew 12.36 - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment and Revelation 20.13 - And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

18. SORROW

The heart may have joy, but also sorrow. Here we have three proverbs about sorrow.

Proverbs 13:12 - Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. - People hope for many things they would like to have someday: health again after sickness, a loved one’s return after being away. It seems like a long time and you get tired of waiting. So you feel sad and heartsick. But when the time of waiting is over you are encouraged, life seems to start over again. We believers should pray to God and hope in the Lord, Psalm 130.7 - Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. Our hope is His return, and He will surely come, Colossians 1.27 - To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory and Hebrews 10.37 - For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 

Proverbs 18:14 - The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? - Some people are sick for a long time, yet they seem to be happy. Their body is weak but their spirit is strong. This should be true of all who believe in God. But sorrow can break or wound the spirit, Proverbs 15:13 - A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. This makes it harder to get better, Proverbs 17:22 - merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Proverbs 25:20 - As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart. You should try to help those who are sick or have sorrow, but this requires wisdom. You might read some verses from the Bible and pray when you visit with them. The sick person wants you to understand how sick and how sad he really is. Job thought that his “friends” did not believe that he was very sick, Job 6.2 - Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! and - Job16.20 - My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God, and - Job 19.20 - My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. Sometimes a sick person just wants to be alone.

Proverbs 25:20 - As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart, - teaches us that we should not try to make a sad person happy by singing cheerful songs to him at the wrong time. There is a time to laugh and a time to weep, Ecclesiastes 3.4 - A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. You can make a person feel worse by showing him how happy you are. You would not take away anyone’s clothing, especially in cold weather. Soda will bubble up when vinegar is poured on it. The sick man may feel just as bad if you try to make him cheerful in the wrong way. There are other proverbs about sorrow which we will read later on.

Proverbs 10:10-22 - He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. Wise men lay-up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth. He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 14:13 - Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Proverbs 17:21 - He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. 

Proverbs 23:29 - Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

19. LAZINESS

We have already read some good advice from a wise father to a lazy Son, Proverbs 6.6-11 - Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. - Here are more proverbs on this bad habit: first, we have six which describe a lazy person; then six more which show us the results of being lazy.

1. What are lazy people like?

Proverbs 19:24 - A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.- A man may put his hand into a dish of food and be too lazy to bring the food to his mouth. He may say he is too tired to feed himself, Proverbs 26:15 - The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. He is too lazy to eat!

Proverbs 22:13 - The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. - Another may say that he cannot go out to work because he is afraid he will get killed if there is a lion in the street. Old cities were protected with walls to keep wild animals out, so the lazy man was just trying to make an excuse to stay in bed. This proverb is about the same as 

Proverbs 26:13 - The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. Proverbs 26:13-16 are about the lazy person. - The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. Proverbs 26:13-16.

Proverbs 26:14 - As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. - People go in and out through a door, but the door itself never goes anywhere. So the lazy person turns over on his bed many times but never wants to get up. Ishbosheth the king was still lying on his bed at noon when he was killed, 2 Samuel 4:5-6 - And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

Proverbs 26:16 - The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. The lazy man tries to make excuses for himself and he is quite sure he is wiser than anyone else.

2. What happens to lazy people?

Proverbs 18:9 - He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.- The lazy person wastes his time. This is perhaps the worst thing we can say about him. Each of us has only one life, a certain number of years, days, hours, and minutes. God will hold us responsible for how we use our time, Luke 19:15 - And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading; and - Ephesians 5.16 - Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Perhaps the lazy person is working for someone else. He is wasting time for which his employer is paying him, and this is not honest. Some employees destroy the property of their employer. The lazy worker is in the same class.

Proverbs 19:15 - Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. - Laziness makes you want to sleep too much, Proverbs 26:14 - As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed, and the result is you do not earn enough to buy the food you need.

Proverbs 20:4 - The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.- Another excuse is the weather. A lazy farmer says it is too cold to plough his field. So he is late sowing his seed and he has little or no harvest. Laziness makes you poor. The New Testament says he that will not work shall not eat, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 - For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Proverbs 21:25-26 - The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not. - The lazy man wants many things beside food, but he would rather die than work hard. The righteous man is willing to work so he will have enough for himself and his family and still be able to give something to others, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 - But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

Proverbs 24:30-34 - I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

The wise man saw a field and a vineyard of a lazy and stupid person. He saw many thorns and weeds, and the wall around the property was broken down. This wall was to keep out wild animals and thieves, Isaiah 5:1-2 - Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. - The wise man understood that laziness brings poverty. Some people like to sleep more than to work. Poverty will suddenly come on them and they will not be able to get started again.

Proverbs 14:4- Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox The ox was used by the farmer to pull his plough, but it required attention also. It must be fed, Isaiah 30:24 - oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan, and sometimes would fall into a pit or hurt someone, Exodus 21:28-33 - If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein. 

A lazy farmer might not take care of his ox, but the result would be smaller crops and more poverty. We should be kind to our animals, especially those that work for us, Deuteronomy 25:4 - Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. 

We will read some more proverbs about laziness, but here we have learned what some lazy people are like and what will happen to them. Ecclesiastes 10.18 - By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

20. WEAKNESS

Earlier we studied a few proverbs on Self-control, which is a good thing in the heart. We are now looking at some bad things which come from the heart, and we have some proverbs which show that the heart is often weak and without self-control.

1. The desires of the flesh
2. Anger
3. Vengeance

These are the works of the flesh, not the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:19-23 - Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

1. The desires of the flesh

The desires of the flesh include the sins of drunkenness and adultery.

Proverbs 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. - Drinking wine at first makes a person feel good, but it leads on to bad things, sometimes to fighting. Friends may say there is nothing wrong in drinking, but the wise person will not believe them.

Proverbs 23:20-21 - Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. - We should not associate with people who drink too much or who eat too much. Both kinds of people spend too much on liquor or fancy food, and so they become poor. Too much food and wine make you feel sleepy and lazy. You may not have enough money to buy the proper clothing.

Proverbs 23:29-35 - Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. - These verses tell us the truth about those who drink too much wine or any form of alcohol. They will be sorry. They may feel like talking too much, Proverbs 10:19 - In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. They may want to fight or quarrel with others and may get hurt. You can tell by their red eyes that they have been drinking, also by their breath.

Wine can appear beautiful and attractive. We should be very careful because drinking soon becomes a habit. The Scripture warns us that in the end it will sting like a poisonous snake.

Drinking is also related to sex. It lessens a person’s fear of the law or what other people think is right, so it makes one brave to do what he or she knows is wrong. In Proverbs the word for strange things is translated strange women, meaning prostitutes, Proverbs 5:3 - For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: Proverbs 22:14 - The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. You cannot think straight and you are likely to say evil things, Proverbs 2:12 - To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; which you will be sorry for afterwards. People get very sick on board a ship in a storm, they often throw up all the food they have eaten. Drinking can make a person do the same.

The drunkard may get into a fight and get hurt, Proverbs 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise; Proverbs 23:29 - Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? He does not care, he just wants to wake up soon so he can get drunk again.

In these verses the Holy Spirit gives us a true picture of the terrible results of drinking wine. No Christian should ever put himself in that condition. You are a child of the King, a son of God. You should never disgrace your Father by getting drunk.

King Lemuel’s mother told her son that wine is not for kings or princes, Proverbs 31.4-7 - It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Of course no Christian ever planned to get drunk. Why take one step in the direction in which you do not want to go?

We have read some very strong warnings against the sins of adultery and fornication: -

Proverbs 2:16-19 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Proverbs 5:3-20 - For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Proverbs 6:24-35 – To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 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. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Proverbs 7:6-23 - For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

Proverbs 9:13-18 - A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Now we will consider three proverbs about this matter.

Proverbs 23:26-28 - My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. - Sexual sins start in the heart, Matthew 15:19 - For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, so God our Father wants to have full control of our hearts and our ways. A sinful woman may be very clever, she can appear to be very attractive while hiding her real purpose; for example, Delilah, Judges 16.4-21 - And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. A person walking in a field may fall into a ditch or a pit if he is not careful. Those who fall into sin with a strange woman may find it impossible to get out again. The wicked woman is also like a hunter who goes out to catch and kill some animal. She succeeds quite well in making many men into sinners.

Proverbs 22:14 - The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. Immoral women can talk smoothly and lay a trap with the words they say. The Lord knows those who love Him and He will keep them from temptation and give them strength to
overcome.

Proverbs 27:20 - Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.- But men’s eyes are never satisfied. This means they covet what they see and this in itself is sin, Matthew 5.28 - But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Death is like a deep pit which never seems to be full. Wicked women have led many in that direction, Proverbs 1:18 - And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. Proverbs 5:5 - Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Proverbs 7:27 - Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. Proverbs 9:18 - But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.