The Nugget:
Pro 23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
My Comment:
Character is all-important. High moral standards are essential. This passage may seem a bit strange for a “Daily Bible Nugget.” The reason I selected this passage is that a few weeks ago I saw a post on an atheist website which tried to mock the Bible in direct reference to this verse.
The Bible tells us that “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour” (Proverbs 14:9).
The poster said he needed to know what was meant by a pit, and wondered how deep it was, so he could decide for himself if the sought-for pleasure was more rewarding than the threatened hazard of the pit.
Any careful reader of the Bible ought to know that a “pit” was used as a trap to catch animals who fell in it in Bible times.
The practical application, knowing this bit of information, ought to be most plain.
A related subject given in the Subject Index of my resource, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury, is “Snares of the Devil” (Deuteronomy 7:25). Another related topic is “Snares laid by sinners” (Psalm 5:9). At each topic verse many additional verses are given.
Is there such a thing as objective moral standards? Some atheists, and many in the world at large, would try to argue that there are no moral absolutes. But the fact is that there are objective moral standards, and that fact is a very good proof that God exists, for He is the author of them.
For those who would like to study the cross references for Proverbs 23:27, I furnish them below in a form more complete than they will be found in either the New Treasury or The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
Proverbs 23:27
For a whore. Pro 9:15. Gen 39:10. Ecc 7:26. Hos 4:11.
deep ditch. +*Pro 22:14 (*S# H7745).
strange woman. Pro 2:16; Pro 5:3, Pro 5:4, Pro 5:20. Pro 20:16. Num 31:16. Jdg 16:4. Ecc 7:26, Jer 10:2.
pit. Heb. be-er, +Gen 16:14.