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16 to deliver you from the strange woman,
    even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,

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16 delivering you from the adulteress,
    from the immoral[a] woman with her seductive words,

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 Lit. foreign; i.e. one whose values are foreign to God’s Law

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey.
    Her mouth is smoother than oil,

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For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
    and her speech[a] is smoother than oil.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:3 Lit. palate

20 For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress?
    Why embrace the bosom of another?

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20 Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son,
    and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman?

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that they may keep you from the strange woman,
    from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
For at the window of my house,
    I looked out through my lattice.
I saw among the simple ones.
    I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
passing through the street near her corner,
    he went the way to her house,
in the twilight, in the evening of the day,
    in the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute,
    and with crafty intent.
11 She is loud and defiant.
    Her feet don’t stay in her house.
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the squares,
    and lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him, and kissed him.
    With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me.
    Today I have paid my vows.
15 Therefore I came out to meet you,
    to diligently seek your face,
    and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry,
    with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning.
    Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
19 For my husband isn’t at home.
    He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a bag of money with him.
    He will come home at the full moon.”
21 With persuasive words, she led him astray.
    With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
22 He followed her immediately,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
    as a fool stepping into a noose.
23 Until an arrow strikes through his liver,
    as a bird hurries to the snare,
    and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.

24 Now therefore, sons, listen to me.
    Pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Don’t let your heart turn to her ways.
    Don’t go astray in her paths,
26 for she has thrown down many wounded.
    Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,[a]
    going down to the rooms of death.

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Footnotes

  1. 7:27 Sheol is the place of the dead.

so they can keep you from an adulterous woman,
    from the immoral woman with her seductive words.

A Father’s Warning

For from a window in my house
    I peered through the lattice work,
and I noticed among the naïve—
    that is, I discerned among the youths—
        a senseless young man.
Proceeding down the street near her corner,
    he makes his way toward her house
at twilight, during the evening,
    even during the darkest part of the night.
10 Look! A woman makes her way to meet him,
    dressed as a prostitute
        and intending to entrap him.
11 She is brazen and defiant—
    her feet don’t remain at home.
12 Now she is in the street, now in the plazas,
    she lurks near every corner.

13 So she grabs hold of him and kisses him,
    with a brazen face she speaks to him,
14 “I have given[a] my peace offerings,
    and today I fulfilled my vows.
15 Therefore, I’ve come out to meet you,
    I’ve looked just for you,
        and I found you!
16 I’ve decorated my bed with new coverings—
    embroidered linen from Egypt.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
    with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s make love until dawn;
    let’s comfort ourselves with love,
19 because my husband isn’t home.
    He left on a long trip.
20 He took a fist full of cash
    and he’ll return home in a month.”

21 She leads him astray with great persuasion;
    with flattering lips she seduces him.
22 All of a sudden he follows her
    like an ox fit for slaughter
        or like a fool fit for a trap[b]
23 until an arrow pierces his liver.
    As a bird darts into a snare,
        he doesn’t realize his fatal decision.[c]

24 So listen to me, my sons,
    and pay attention to what I have to say.
25 Don’t be led astray by her lifestyle,[d]
    and don’t imitate her behavior.[e]
26 For many are the victims whom she has conquered,
    and many are her slain.
27 Her house leads to Sheol,[f]
    descending to death’s catacombs.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:14 The Heb. lacks given
  2. Proverbs 7:22 So MT; LXX reads a dog fit for chains
  3. Proverbs 7:23 Lit. realize it is his life
  4. Proverbs 7:25 Lit. ways
  5. Proverbs 7:25 Lit. paths
  6. Proverbs 7:27 I.e. the realm of the dead

14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit.
    He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.

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14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
    a man experiencing the Lord’s wrath will fall into it.

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26 My son, give me your heart;
    and let your eyes keep in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
    and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Yes, she lies in wait like a robber,
    and increases the unfaithful among men.

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26 Give me your heart, my son,
    and keep your eyes fixed on my ways,
27 because a prostitute is a deep pit,
    and the adulterous[a] woman a narrow well.
28 Surely she lies in wait like a bandit,
    increasing those who are faithless among mankind.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:27 Lit. foreign