Epilogue. He Must Recognise That A Man's Ways Are Open To YHWH's Eyes, And Must Not Forfeit The Level Paths Through Folly (Proverbs 5:21-23).
The passage, like all previous passages, ends with an epilogue in which a contrast is made between the righteous and the wicked, although in this case the contrast is not so stark. The point is that YHWH watches over men's ways and makes them level, but the wicked man is bound by his sins, refuses instruction, and through his own folly goes astray. There is an important lesson in this. YHWH works positively on behalf of all. It is the wicked who, by their own sins, forfeit His goodness. Once again it is in the form of a chiasmus:
A For the ways of man are before the eyes of YHWH, and he makes level all his paths (Proverbs 5:21).
B His own iniquities will take the wicked (Proverbs 5:22 a),
B And he will be held with the cords of his sin (Proverbs 5:22 b).
A He will die for lack of disciplinary instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray (Proverbs 5:23).
In A man in general walks in the eyes of YHWH and He makes level paths for him, but in the parallel the wicked, lacking instruction and foolish, goes astray. And this is because centrally in B he is ‘taken' and tied up by his own sins.
For the ways of man are before the eyes of YHWH,
And he makes level all his paths.'
Man in general walks ‘before the eyes of YHWH'. In other words YHWH sees him and all that he does. And this is true for all. Furthermore He makes level all his paths. He smoothes the way for him, and removes stumblingblocks from before him. As Jesus reminded us, He makes the sun to shine, and pours out His rain, on both the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). He has made full provision for him. All are provided for and the pathway would be smooth were it not for sin., for God is generally beneficent.
‘His own iniquities will take the wicked,
And he shall be held with the cords of his sin,
He will die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.'
But from the cradle sin rears its ugly head (Psalms 58:3). And as a consequence man turns from His level paths, and trapped by sin, rejects instruction and goes astray. It is his own iniquities which ‘take' the unrighteous, leading him astray. He is held by the cords of sin which prevent him taking the right way. The idea behind the cords is probably that of the animal ensnared by the hunter, although it could indicate a man taken captive and bound. Thus sin is seen as having entrapped the wicked man. Furthermore he dies for lack of disciplinary instruction, not because he has not received it, but because he has rejected it (Proverbs 5:12-13). He fell into the trap because he had ignored God's instruction through His servants. And thus in his folly he goes astray. He is no longer walking happily along the level paths.
In terms of this passage those who walk in the smooth way are those who follow wisdom and cling to their true wives, finding their satisfaction in them, whilst those who lack instruction go after prostitutes and the pleasures of sin. But here the principle is generalised and applied to all sin. It is not just immorality which traps men, it is all sin.