Proverbs 7
Wycliffe Bible
7 My son, keep thou my words; and keep my behests to thee. (My son, remember my words; and keep my commands with thee.)
2 Keep thou my behests, and thou shalt live; and my law, as the apple of thine eye. (Keep thou my commands, and thou shalt live; and my instructions, or my teaching, as the apple of thine eyes.)
3 Bind thou it in thy fingers; write thou it in the tables of thine heart. (Bind thou it to thy fingers; write thou it on the tablets of thy heart.)
4 Say thou to wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call thou prudence thy love (and call thou understanding, thy friend).
5 That it keep thee from a strange woman; and from an alien woman, that maketh her words sweet. (So that they keep thee safe from a strange woman; yea, from an unknown woman, who maketh her words sweet.)
6 (For she saith,) For why from the window of mine house, by the lattice, I beheld;
7 and I see little children, that is, fools that have little wit. I behold a young man coward, (and I see fools, who have little intelligence. I behold a cowardly young man,)
8 that passeth by the streets, beside the corner (who passeth along the street, beside the corner); and he goeth nigh the way of her house,
9 in dark time, when the day draweth to night, in the darkness and mist in the night.
10 And lo! a woman, made ready with (the) ornament of an whore to deceive souls, meeteth him,
11 and she is a jangler, and going about, and unpatient of rest, and may not stand in the house with her feet; (and she is a gossip, who goeth about restlessly, yea, who cannot stand still in her own house;)
12 and now withoutforth, now in [the] streets, now beside [the] corners, she ambusheth (him).
13 And she taketh (hold of), and kisseth the young man; and flattereth (him) with wooing cheer, that is, unrestful(ly), and without shame, and saith,
14 I owed sacrifices for health (I have paid my offerings for my deliverance); today I have yielded my vows.
15 Therefore I went out into thy meeting, and I desired to see thee; and I have found thee.
16 I have made (ready) my bed with cords, I have arrayed it with tapets painted of Egypt; (I have prepared my bed, yea, I have arrayed it with coloured tapestries from Egypt;)
17 I have besprinkled my bed with myrrh, and aloes, and canel (and cinnamon).
18 Come thou, be we filled with touching of teats, and use we embracings that be coveted; till the day begin to be clear.
19 For mine husband is not in his house; he is gone (away) a full long way.
20 He took with him a bag of money; he shall turn again in to his house in the day of [the] full moon. (He took a bag of money with him; and he shall not return to his house until the day of the full moon.)
21 She bound him with many words; and she drew forth him with flatterings of lips. (And so she bound him with many words; and she drew him forth with the flattery from her lips.)
22 Anon he as an ox led to slain sacrifice followeth her, and as a jolly lamb and unknowing; and the fool knoweth not, that he is drawn to bonds, (And so at once he followeth her, like an ox led away to be slain for the offering, and like a jolly, and unknowing, lamb; and the fool knoweth not, that he is drawn into bonds,)
23 till an arrow pierce his maw. As if a bird hasteth to the snare; and knoweth not, that it is done of the peril of his life. (until an arrow pierce his belly. Yea, like a bird that hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is done at the peril of its own life.)
24 Now therefore, my son, hear thou me; and perceive the words of my mouth. (And so now, my son, listen thou to me; and understand the words that I speak.)
25 Lest thy soul be drawn away in the ways of her; neither be thou deceived in the paths of her. (Lest thy life be drawn away by her ways; go thou not forth on her deceptive paths.)
26 For she hath cast down many wounded men; and all [the] strongest men were slain of her. (For she hath wounded, and cast down, many men; yea, even the strongest men have been slain by her.)
27 The ways of hell is her house; and pierce(th) into the inner things of death. (Her house is the way, or the entrance, to Sheol/to hell; yea, it leadeth down to the land of the dead.)
Proverbs 7
Tree of Life Version
Treasure Torah’s Teaching
7 My son, keep my words
and treasure my mitzvot within you.
2 Keep my mitzvot and live,
my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call understanding your relative.
5 They will keep you from a seducing woman,
from the foreign woman with her seductive speech.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice.
7 I saw among the naïve,
I noticed among the youth,
a young man lacking understanding,
8 crossing the street near her corner,
walking in the direction of her house,
9 in the twilight of the evening,
in the darkest hours of the night.
10 All of a sudden, a woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute and with a cunning heart.
11 She is loud and defiant.
Her feet never stay at home—
12 now in the streets, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.
13 So she grabs him and kisses him
and with a brazen face says to him:
14 “I had to sacrifice fellowship offerings;
today I paid my vow.
15 So I’ve come out to meet you,
to seek your presence eagerly—and I found you!
16 I have spread my couch with tapestry
of dyed Egyptian linens.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love till morning!
Let’s delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home—
he’s gone on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him—
he won’t come home until full moon.”
21 With her persistent pleading she entices him,
with smooth talk she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a stag bounding toward a trap,
23 till an arrow pierces its liver.
Like a bird darting into a snare,
he never considered his own soul!
24 Now then, sons, listen to me,
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray onto her paths.
26 For many are the victims she has brought down,
and numerous are all her slain.
27 Her house is a highway to Sheol,
leading down to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 7
New King James Version
The Wiles of a Harlot
7 My son, keep my words,
And (A)treasure my commands within you.
2 (B)Keep my commands and live,
(C)And my law as the apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your nearest kin,
5 (E)That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.
The Crafty Harlot
6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the [a]youths,
A young man (F)devoid[b] of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 (G)In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 (H)She was loud and rebellious,
(I)Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an [c]impudent face she said to him:
14 “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of (J)Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For [d]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money [e]with him,
And will come home [f]on the appointed day.”
21 [g]With (K)her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
(L)With her flattering lips she [h]seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or [i]as a fool to the correction of the [j]stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
(M)As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it [k]would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
And (N)all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 (O)Her house is the way to [l]hell,
Descending to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit. sons
- Proverbs 7:7 lacking
- Proverbs 7:13 shameless
- Proverbs 7:19 Lit. the man
- Proverbs 7:20 Lit. in his hand
- Proverbs 7:20 at the full moon
- Proverbs 7:21 By the greatness of her words
- Proverbs 7:21 compelled
- Proverbs 7:22 LXX, Syr., Tg. as a dog to bonds; Vg. as a lamb . . . to bonds
- Proverbs 7:22 shackles
- Proverbs 7:23 Lit. is for
- Proverbs 7:27 Or Sheol
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
