Proverbs 7
New American Standard Bible
The Lures of the Prostitute
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]teaching (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend,
5 So that they may keep you from an [c]adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6 For (F)at the window of my house
I looked out (G)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (H)naive,
And discerned among the [d]youths
A young man (I)lacking [e]sense,
8 Passing through the street near (J)her corner;
And he walks along the way to (K)her house,
9 In the (L)twilight, in the [f]evening,
In the [g]middle of the night and the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(M)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
11 She is (N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (O)feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now (P)in the public squares,
And (Q)lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him,
[h]And with a (R)brazen face she says to him:
14 “[i]I was due to offer (S)peace offerings;
Today I have (T)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (U)coverings,
With colored (V)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (W)myrrh, aloes, and (X)cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
19 For [j]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a (Y)bag of money [k]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her [l](Z)flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as [m]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (AA)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, (AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (AC)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the [n]victims she has brought to ruin,
And (AD)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
27 Her (AE)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:2 Or law
- Proverbs 7:2 Lit pupil
- Proverbs 7:5 Lit strange woman
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit sons
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit heart
- Proverbs 7:9 Lit evening of the day
- Proverbs 7:9 Lit pupil (of the eye)
- Proverbs 7:13 Lit She makes bold her face and says
- Proverbs 7:14 Lit Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me
- Proverbs 7:19 Lit the man
- Proverbs 7:20 Lit in his hand
- Proverbs 7:21 Lit smooth
- Proverbs 7:22 Or as a stag goes into a trap; as in some ancient versions, Heb is uncertain
- Proverbs 7:26 Lit wounded
Proverbs 7
American Standard Version
7 My son, keep my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments and live;
And my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers;
Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;
And call understanding thy [a]kinswoman:
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
From the foreigner that [b]flattereth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked forth through my lattice;
7 And I beheld among the simple ones,
I discerned among the youths,
A young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner;
And he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day,
In the [c]middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And, behold, there met him a woman
With the attire of a harlot, and [d]wily of heart.
11 (She is [e]clamorous and wilful;
Her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places,
And lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him,
[f]And with an impudent face she said unto him:
14 Sacrifices of peace-offerings [g]are with me;
This day have I paid my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee,
Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have spread my couch with [h]carpets of tapestry,
With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I have [i]perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning;
Let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the man is not at home;
He is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him;
He will come home at the full moon.
21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield;
With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
22 He goeth after her [j]straightway,
As an ox goeth to the slaughter,
Or as one in [k]fetters to the correction of the fool;
23 Till an arrow strike through his liver;
As a bird hasteth to the snare,
And knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,
And attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thy heart decline to her ways;
Go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded:
Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
Going down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:4 Or, familiar friend
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew maketh smooth her words.
- Proverbs 7:9 Hebrew pupil (of the eye).
- Proverbs 7:10 Or, close. Hebrew guarded.
- Proverbs 7:11 Or, turbulent
- Proverbs 7:13 Hebrew She hardened her face, and said.
- Proverbs 7:14 Or, were due from me
- Proverbs 7:16 Or, cushions
- Proverbs 7:17 Or, sprinkled
- Proverbs 7:22 Hebrew suddenly.
- Proverbs 7:22 The Hebrew is obscure.
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