Verse 24 climaxes the warning. Both the positive illumination of vv. 20–23a and the negative reproofs of the parents in v. 23b should turn the young man away from the adulteress. She is “evil” (raʿ, cf. 1:33), appropriate language for one who lures men to unfaithful actions.20 Paralleled with this expression is the thought that she uses “flattery” (literally, her tongue is “smooth,” ḥalaq, cf. 2:16). She uses “smooth” words as she entices men into sin, v. 24. 25–26 The first warning focuses on the