Ecclesiastes 7:26
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What's striking here is the active trapping. It's not just that she's like snares and nets, but her heart is snares and nets, and her hands are fetters. This paints a picture of deliberate, calculated destruction, not just passive temptation. Escaping her isn't just about personal strength, but about aligning with God's favor.
And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After exploring the vanity of life and the search for wisdom, the Preacher lands on a particularly bitter discovery: the ruinous entanglement with a deceitful woman who traps men like prey. This insight is rooted in his own painful experience, which he revisits as a testament to the devastating power of such relationships, a far worse fate than death itself, from which only those who truly live to please God can escape.
We often think of death as the ultimate end, the most bitter experience. But this verse suggests something can be even worse. What makes it so devastating?
The Ultimate Ruin
The Preacher, likely Solomon reflecting on his own life, declares he's found something 'more bitter than death.' It's not physical suffering or loss, but the ruin brought by a certain kind of woman.
The verse presents a stark choice: escape or be captured. What determines which path a person takes?
Divine Protection vs. Sinful Entanglement
The verse draws a clear line between two types of people and their destinies concerning this 'bitter' snare:
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The key difference isn't inherent goodness, but a relationship and alignment with God that leads to preservation.
Understand the original words
marah · Hebrew Adjective
Something causing sharp pain or distress; often used in Scripture to describe the profound sorrow caused by sin, death, or judgment.
leb · Hebrew Noun
The inner person—the center of thought, will, emotion, and desire. In biblical theology, it is the core of moral decision-making.
matsod · Hebrew Noun
A trap or enticement, often implying moral or spiritual entanglements that lead one away from obedience to God.
tob liphney ha'elohim · Hebrew Verb/Adjective
Literally "to be well-pleasing." In a biblical sense, it refers to the one who walks in righteousness, fearing God and keeping His commandments.
chata' · Hebrew Noun
One who misses the mark of God's standard; someone who wanders from the path of righteousness and into disobedience.
This passage directly echoes the imagery of Ecclesiastes 7:26, describing the seductive and destructive nature of a 'strange woman' whose words are like honey but whose end is bitter, leading to ruin.
1 Kings 11:1-8This historical account directly illustrates the warning in Ecclesiastes 7:26, showing how King Solomon's heart was turned away from God by foreign women, leading to devastating consequences for his kingdom and his relationship with God.
Romans 6:16This verse highlights the concept of enslavement to sin, paralleling how the 'sinner' in Ecclesiastes is 'taken' by the destructive woman, emphasizing that giving oneself to one master (sin or righteousness) leads to bondage.
2 Peter 2:14This passage describes those who have 'eyes full of adultery,' unable to stop sinning, and alluring 'unstable souls,' which strongly connects to the description of the woman whose heart is 'snares and nets' in Ecclesiastes.
jfbEcclesiastes 7:26: "And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her."
- "I find" that, of all my sinful follies, none has been so ruinous a snare in seducing me from God as idolatrous women (1Ki 11:3, 4; Pr 5:3, 4; 22:14). As "God's favor is better than life," she who seduces from God is "more bitter than death."whoso pleaseth God—as Joseph (Ge 39:2, 3, 9). It is…
ellicottEcclesiastes 7:26: "And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her."
-26 Ecclesiasticus 9:3 ; Ecclesiasticus 26:23 . Snares.—See Ecclesiastes 9:12; used for siege works, Ecclesiastes 9:14. Nets.—Habakkuk 1:15; Ezekiel 26:5. Bands.—Judges 15:14.
What's striking here is the active trapping. It's not just that she's like snares and nets, but her heart is snares and nets, and her hands are fetters. This paints a picture of deliberate, calculated destruction, not just passive temptation. Escaping her isn't just about personal strength, but about aligning with God's favor.
After exploring the vanity of life and the search for wisdom, the Preacher lands on a particularly bitter discovery: the ruinous entanglement with a deceitful woman who traps men like prey. This insight is rooted in his own painful experience, which he revisits as a testament to the devastating power of such relationships, a far worse fate than death itself, from which only those who truly live to please God can escape.
After exploring the vanity of life and the search for wisdom, the Preacher lands on a particularly bitter discovery: the ruinous entanglement with a deceitful woman who traps men like prey. This insight is rooted in his own painful experience, which he revisits as a testament to the devastating power of such relationships, a far worse fate than death itself, from which only those who truly live to please God can escape.
"And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her." — What's striking here is the active trapping. It's not just that she's like snares and nets, but her heart is snares and nets, and her hands are fetters. This paints a picture of deliberate, c…
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Last reviewed October 2026
