The Meaning of Proverbs 5:6 Explained

Proverbs 5:6

KJV: Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

YLT: The path of life -- lest thou ponder, Moved have her paths -- thou knowest not.

Darby: Lest she should ponder the path of life, her ways wander, she knoweth not whither.

ASV: So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and'she knoweth it not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Lest thou shouldest ponder  the path  of life,  her ways  are moveable,  [that] thou canst not know  [them]. 

What does Proverbs 5:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 5:1-14 - Quicksands! Keep Off!
It is a matter for great thankfulness that the Bible, which is God's book rather than man's, deals so strongly and wisely with one great evil, which has manifested itself in every age and in every state of society. It speaks boldly and plainly; and all who will meditate on its teaching with a prayerful heart, will be saved from many a painful snare. If we fall it will only be due to our having refused to heed the voice that speaks to us from paragraphs like these.
The one great caution that we must all observe is in the control of our thoughts. The soul must never lie open to the tide of suggestive thoughts that break along its beach. As of old the watchman kept the gate of the medieval city so soon as darkness fell, so must the purity of God keep watch and ward at eye-gate, ear-gate, and touch-gate, lest some emissary of evil gain entrance and betray the citadel. Let Christ be the custodian of thy soul, whether thou be man or woman, old or young, and let Him impart to thee His own divine and human purity. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 5

1  Solomon exhorts to wisdom
3  He shows the mischief of unfaithfulness and riot
15  He exhorts to contentedness, generosity, and chastity
22  The wicked are overtaken with their own sins

What do the individual words in Proverbs 5:6 mean?

[her] path of life lest you ponder are unstable Her ways not You do know [them] -
אֹ֣רַח חַ֭יִּים פֶּן־ תְּפַלֵּ֑ס נָע֥וּ מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָ לֹ֣א תֵדָֽע פ

אֹ֣רַח  [her]  path 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
חַ֭יִּים  of  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
פֶּן־  lest 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: פֶּן  
Sense: lest, not, beware lest adv.
תְּפַלֵּ֑ס  you  ponder 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: פָּלַס 
Sense: (Piel) to weigh, make level, balance.
נָע֥וּ  are  unstable 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נוּעַ  
Sense: to quiver, totter, shake, reel, stagger, wander, move, sift, make move, wave, waver, tremble.
מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָ  Her  ways 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מַעְגָּל 
Sense: entrenchment, track.
תֵדָֽע  You  do  know  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation