Proverbs 7:19-27

19 For there is no man in his home; he has gone on a {long journey}.
20 The bag of money he took in his hand, for [on] the day of the full moon he will come home."
21 She persuades him with the greatness of her teachings; with her smooth lips she compels him.
22 He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool,
23 until an arrow pierces his {entrails}, like a bird rushing into a snare, but he does not know that {it will cost him his life}.

Reiteration of the Warning Against a Strange Woman

24 And now, my children, listen to me, and be attentive to the sayings of my mouth.
25 May your heart not turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her path.
26 For many slain she has laid low, and countless [are] all of her killings.
27 The ways of Sheol [are] her house, descending to chambers of death.

Proverbs 7:19-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 7

The sum of this chapter is to exhort men to attend to the doctrines and precepts of Wisdom, in order to avoid the adulterous woman; the exhortation to keep them with care, affection, and delight, in order to answer the end, is in Pr 7:1-5. A story is told, of Solomon's own knowledge, of a young man ensnared and ruined by a lewd woman; it begins Pr 7:6. The young man is described as foolish, and as throwing himself in the way of temptation, Pr 7:7-9; the harlot that met him is described by her attire, her subtlety, her voice, her inconstancy, her impudence, and pretensions to piety, Pr 7:10-14. The arguments she made use of to prevail upon him to go with her are taken partly from the elegance of her bed, the softness of it, and its sweet perfume, and satiety of love to be enjoyed in it, Pr 7:15-18; and partly from the absence of her husband, who was gone a long journey, and had made provision for it for a certain time, Pr 7:19,20. By which arguments she prevailed upon him to his utter ruin: which is illustrated by the similes of an ox going to the slaughter, a fool to the stocks, and a bird to the snare, Pr 7:21-23. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to hearken to the words of Wisdom, and to avoid the ways and paths of the harlot, by which many and mighty persons have been ruined; they being the direct road to hell and death, Pr 7:24-27.

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Or "husband"
  • [b]. Literally "a journey from far"
  • [c]. Literally "heaviness," often referring to the liver
  • [d]. Literally "it is against his life"
  • [e]. Or "strong men"
  • [f]. A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.