Proverbs 7:6-23

6 For 1at the window of my house I looked out 2through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the 3naive, And discerned among the youths A young man 4lacking sense,
8 Passing through the street near 5her corner; And he takes the way to 6her house,
9 In the 7twilight, in the evening *, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him, 8Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 She is 9boisterous and rebellious, Her 10feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now 11in the squares, And 12lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him And with a 13brazen face she says to him:
14 "I was due to offer 14peace offerings; Today I have 15paid my vows.
15 "Therefore * I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
16 "I have spread my couch with 16coverings, With colored 17linens of Egypt.
17 "I have sprinkled my bed With 18myrrh, aloes and 19cinnamon.
18 "Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
19 "For my husband is not at home, He has gone on a long * journey;
20 He has taken a 20bag of money with him, At the full moon he will come home."
21 With her many persuasions she entices him; With her 21flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows * her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a 22bird hastens to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Proverbs 7:6-23 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 22

Footnotes 12

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