Proverbs 22:14 (DRB)

Passage

The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he whom the Lord is angry with, shall fall into it.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge: and the words of the unjust are overthrown.

Proverbs 22:13 The slothful man saith: There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets.

Proverbs 22:14 The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he whom the Lord is angry with, shall fall into it.

Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction shall drive it away.

Proverbs 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall himself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mouth", "strange", "woman", "deep", "lord", "angry", "shall", and "fall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mouth" and "strange", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "The slothful man saith There is a..." into verse 15's "Folly is bound up in the heart...", so "mouth" and "strange" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mouth" and "strange" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.