(2) Walking with the wicked (vv. 10-19). Here we meet “the evil man” and “the strange woman,” two people who are dangerous because they want to lead God’s children away from the path of life. The evil man is known for his perverse (“froward,” kjv; crooked) words (see vv. 12, 14; 6:14; 8:13; 10:31-32; 16:28, 30). He walks on the dark path of disobedience and enjoys doing that which is evil. He belongs to the crowd Solomon warns us about in 1:10-19. The person who walks in the way of wisdom would immediately detect his deceit and avoid him.

The “strange woman” is the adulteress, the wayward wife described so vividly in 7:1-27. If the evil man uses perverse words to snare the unwary, the adulteress uses flattering words. Someone has said that flattery isn’t communication, it is manipulation; it’s people telling us things about ourselves that we enjoy hearing and wish were true. The strange woman knows how to use flattery successfully. She has no respect for God because she breaks His law (Ex. 20:14); she has no respect for her husband because she violates the promises she made to him when she married him. She no longer has a guide or a friend in the Lord or in her husband because she has taken the path of sin. Anyone who listens to her words and follows her path is heading for the cemetery.