Proverbs - 5:22



22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Proverbs 5:22.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins.
His own iniquities do capture the wicked, And with the ropes of his sin he is holden.
The evil-doer will be taken in the net of his crimes, and prisoned in the cords of his sin.
His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
His own iniquities take hold of the impious, and he is bound by the cords of his own sins.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

He shall be holden with the cords of his sins - Most people who follow unlawful pleasures, think they can give them up whenever they please; but sin repeated becomes customary; custom soon engenders habit; and habit in the end assumes the form of necessity; the man becomes bound with his own cords, and so is led captive by the devil at his will.

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,.... As in a snare or net, as Gersom observes; in which the adulterer is so entangled that he cannot extricate himself; he may fancy that when he grows old his lusts will be weakened, and he shall be able to get clear of them, and have repentance for them, but he will find himself mistaken; he will become but more and more hardened by them and confirmed in them, and will have neither will nor power to repent of them, and shake off those shackles with which he is bound: and it may be understood of the guilt and punishment of his sins; that the horrors of a guilty conscience shall seize him, there will be no need of any others to arrest him, these will do that office; or diseases shall come upon him for his sins, and bring him to the dust of death, and so to everlasting destruction;
and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins; which he has been all his life committing and twisting together, and made as it were cords of, which by constant practice become strong as such; with the guilt of which he is bound as a malefactor, and will be brought to justice, being reserved in these cords, as the angels that sinned in their chains, unto the judgment of the great day; the phrase denotes the strength of sin, the impotency of man to get rid of it, and the sure and inevitable ruin that comes by it.

and He will cause sin to bring its punishment.

Holden - He is in perfect bondage to his lusts, and is neither able nor wiling to set himself at liberty.

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