Friday, October 9, 2026 · Chapter 9
Stolen Water Always Costs More
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Proverbs 9:16
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Proverbs 9:17
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
Proverbs 9:18
IThe Hebrew, opened up
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stolen — the root means to steal, and by extension, to deceive. Taking what isn’t yours comes bundled with being conned
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will be sweet — an imperfect verb: a promise about a taste you haven’t actually had yet
Yimtaqu is future tense — “will be sweet,” not “is sweet.” Folly is selling you an anticipated thrill, not a verified one. And ganab’s double meaning means the verse is quietly warning you twice: what you’re about to take isn’t yours, and the woman offering it is lying to you about how good it’s going to feel.
IIWhat this actually means
Folly sits at her own door and shouts the exact same pitch Wisdom used back in verse 4 — word for word, “whoso is simple, let him turn in hither.” Same bait, different house. Her whole sales pitch for sin is one sentence: it tastes better because it’s stolen and secret. Not because the water is better water. Because you’re not supposed to have it. That’s the entire thrill, and it’s a promise, not a fact — the verb is “will be sweet,” future tense, sold before it’s tasted. The guy who walks through that door thinks he’s walking into a party. He’s walking into a morgue and doesn’t know it yet (v.18). Nobody tells him the bill until after he’s already swallowed.
IIIObey it today
At work today, if you catch yourself about to cut a corner nobody would catch — padding an hour, fudging a number, taking something small that isn’t yours — stop and say out loud why it feels exciting. It’s exciting because it’s stolen, not because it’s good. Then don’t do it.
Before noon, delete or log out of whatever app or tab gives you that same “secret” rush when you open it alone. Do it now, before you open it one more time today.
If there’s a purchase, a text thread, or a conversation you’ve been keeping quiet because it feels better hidden, say something about it to the person it affects — your spouse, your boss, whoever — before lunch. Secret is the whole trick. Pull it into the light and the sweetness dies right there.
PrayerGod, when the secret thing looks sweeter than the right thing today, remind me You’re already watching and help me walk away before I bite.
Keep this in your chest
“Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,”
Proverbs 9:16