Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
to keep you from (A)the forbidden[a] woman,
    from (B)the adulteress[b] with her smooth words.

For at (C)the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
and I have seen among (D)the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man (E)lacking sense,
passing along the street (F)near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
in (G)the twilight, in the evening,
    at (H)the time of night and darkness.

10 And behold, the woman meets him,
    (I)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[c]
11 She is (J)loud and (K)wayward;
    (L)her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
    and (M)at every corner she (N)lies in wait.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
  2. Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
  3. Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart


Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the foreigner [who does not observe God’s laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.


For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice.

And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible],
I saw among the youths
A young man lacking [good] sense,

Passing through the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house

In the twilight, in the evening;
In the black and dark night.
10 
And there a woman met him,
Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.
11 
She was boisterous and rebellious;
[a]She would not stay at home.
12 
At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places,
Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:11 Lit Her feet do not.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and to insight, “You are my relative.”
They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(A)

At the window of my house
    I looked down through the lattice.
I saw among the simple,
    I noticed among the young men,
    a youth who had no sense.(B)
He was going down the street near her corner,
    walking along in the direction of her house
at twilight,(C) as the day was fading,
    as the dark of night set in.

10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
    dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(D) and defiant,
    her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
    at every corner she lurks.)(E)

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