The Seductress Who Leads to Death
Personifications · 4 verses
As Wisdom's dark counterpart, Folly is personified as a loud, seductive woman who sits at the door of her house, calling to passersby with stolen pleasures. She is 'simple, and knoweth nothing,' yet her invitation mimics Wisdom's: 'Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither.' But while Wisdom offers life, Folly's house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death. Throughout Proverbs, she appears as the 'strange woman' whose lips drip honey but whose end is bitter as wormwood. She flatters with her words, forgets the covenant of her God, and leads young men astray like an ox to the slaughter. The contrast between Wisdom and Folly presents the fundamental choice of life: the path of righteousness leading to life, or the path of wickedness leading to destruction.
Scripture References
“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.”
“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 twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”
“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. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”
“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.”