Proverbs 7:7-27

7 and I have seen among 1the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man 2lacking sense,
8 passing along the street 3near her corner, taking the road to her house
9 in 4the twilight, in the evening, at 5the time of night and darkness.
10 And behold, the woman meets him, 6dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[a]
11 She is 7loud and 8wayward; 9her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market, and 10at every corner she 11lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him, and with 12bold face she says to him,
14 "I had to 13offer sacrifices,[b] and today I have 14paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with 15coverings, colored linens from 16Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with 17myrrh, aloes, and 18cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For 19my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home."
21 With much seductive speech she persuades him; with 20her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast[c]
23 till an arrow pierces its liver; as 21a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 And 22now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are 23a mighty throng.
27 Her house is 24the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 7:7-27 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.

Cross References 24

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Hebrew guarded in heart
  • [b]. Hebrew peace offerings
  • [c]. Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as an anklet for the discipline of a fool
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.