Proverbs chapter 7
English Standard Version
1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call insight your intimate friend, 5to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words. 6For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, 7and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, 8passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house 9in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. 10And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. 11She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; 12now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. 13She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him, 14"I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; 15so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. 16I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; 17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. 19For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; 20he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home." 21With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. 22All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast 23till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life. 24And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 25Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, 26for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. 27Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.
New International Version
1My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. 2Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. 3Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and to insight, "You are my relative."
5They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words. 6At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice. 7I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. 8He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
9at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. 10Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 11(She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; 12now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
13She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: 14"Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. 15So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! 16I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. 17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 18Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! 19My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
20He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon." 21With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. 22All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose
23till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. 24Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. 25Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. 26Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. 27Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
New American Standard Bible
1My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. 2Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. 3Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' And call understanding your intimate friend, 5So that they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words. 6For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, 7And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense, 8Passing through the street near her corner; And he walks along the way to her house, 9In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and the darkness. 10And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart. 11She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; 12 She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner. 13So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him: 14'I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows. 15Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you. 16I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt. 17I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning; Let’s delight ourselves with caresses. 19For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey. 20He has taken a bag of money with him. At the full moon he will come home.' 21With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him. 22Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool, 23Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life. 24Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth. 25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths. 26For many are the victims she has brought to ruin, And numerous are all those slaughtered by her. 27Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.
Christian Standard Bible
1My son, obey my words, and treasure my commands. 2Keep my commands and live, and guard my instructions as you would the pupil of your eye. 3Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your relative. 5She will keep you from a forbidden woman, a wayward woman with her flattering talk. 6At the window of my house I looked through my lattice. 7I saw among the inexperienced, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking sense. 8Crossing the street near her corner, he strolled down the road to her house 9at twilight, in the evening, in the dark of the night. 10A woman came to meet him dressed like a prostitute, having a hidden agenda. 11She is loud and defiant; her feet do not stay at home. 12Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner. 13She grabs him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him, 14"I’ve made fellowship offerings; today I’ve fulfilled my vows. 15So I came out to meet you, to search for you, and I’ve found you. 16I’ve spread coverings on my bed — richly colored linen from Egypt. 17I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning. Let’s feast on each other’s love! 19My husband isn’t home; he went on a long journey. 20He took a bag of silver with him and will come home at the time of the full moon." 21She seduces him with her persistent pleading; she lures with her flattering talk. 22He follows her impulsively like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding toward a trap
23until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird darting into a snare — he doesn’t know it will cost him his life. 24Now, sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words from my mouth. 25Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways; don’t stray onto her paths. 26For she has brought many down to death; her victims are countless. 27Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.
New Living Translation
1Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. 2Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. 3Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.
4Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. 5Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
6While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, 7I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. 8He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house. 9It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. 10The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. 11She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home. 12She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. 13She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, 14'I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. 15You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! 16My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen. 17I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses, 19for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. 20He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. '
21So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. 22He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, 23awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
King James Version
New King James Version
1My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin, 5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words. 6For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, 7And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding, 8Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. 10And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. 11 She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home. 12At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner. 13So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him: 14“ I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. 15So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you. 16I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen. 17I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. 19For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; 20He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed day.” 21With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him. 22Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. 24Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: 25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths; 26For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. 27 Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.
What does Proverbs chapter 7 mean?
As in his previous lessons, Solomon begins Proverbs 7 with a plea to his "son," which may also be a reference to students. His request is that they pay close attention to his instruction and value his counsel highly. He commends valuing wisdom the way a man ought to cherish his own sister. This parallels other depictions of wisdom as a woman in this book (Proverbs 1:20–21; 4:7–9; 8:1–3). The passage makes yet another reference to adultery, and warns about "the adulteress." While the literal language cautions a man about a predatory woman, the principles apply to both sexes. Adultery is a common metaphor for all sin, as something which is tempting but leads to ruin (Proverbs 7:1–5).Solomon's wisdom was based not only in God-given insights, but also in experience. The tale he relates in the rest of this chapter is one he claims to have seen from his own window. Most likely, this is a summation of many such events which Solomon observed during his lifetime. Those who lack sense are more easily led astray; likewise, those who fall to temptation often do so because they make unwise decisions (Proverbs 7:6–7).
The woman depicted here is aggressive and stalks the young man like a predator. She applies seductive clothing, surprise, flattery, boldness, and the promise of consequence-free sex. Using deliberate tactics, she wins the young man over and convinces him to engage in sin. These strategies are not only literal, when it comes to sexual temptation, they also echo the various ways other temptations present themselves. Being warned of such dangers helps us recognize and avoid them (Proverbs 7:8–21).
By succumbing to the adulteress' tricks, the reckless youth falls into a trap, like livestock being led to slaughter or a wild animal being snared by a hunter. Solomon warns his son—and, by extension, all men and women—that yielding to evil's temptation leads inevitably to death (Proverbs 7:22–27).
