Proverbs 7
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
7 My son, obey my words,
and treasure my commands.(A)
2 Keep my commands and live,(B)
and guard my instructions
as you would the pupil of your eye.(C)
3 Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(D)
4 Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’(E)
and call understanding your relative.
5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a wayward woman with her flattering talk.(F)
A Story of Seduction
6 At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.(G)
7 I saw among the inexperienced,[a]
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.
8 Crossing the street near her corner,
he strolled down the road to her house
9 at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.(H)
10 A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,(I)
having a hidden agenda.[b]
11 She is loud and defiant;(J)
her feet do not stay at home.(K)
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,(L)
she lurks at every corner.(M)
13 She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says[c] to him,
14 ‘I’ve made fellowship offerings;
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.(N)
15 So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.
16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed(O) –
richly coloured linen from Egypt.(P)
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.(Q)
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.(R)
Let’s feast on each other’s love!
19 My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of silver with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.’
21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering talk.
22 He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding towards a trap[d]
23 until an arrow pierces its[e] liver,(S)
like a bird darting into a snare(T) –
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.
Proverbs 7
Revised Geneva Translation
7 My son, keep my words, and hide my commandments with you.
2 Keep my commandments, and you shall live; and my instruction, as the apple of your eyes.
3 Bind them upon your fingers. Write them upon the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister”. And call understanding, “kinswoman”.
5 That they may keep you from the strange woman; from the strange who is smooth in her words.
6 As in the window of my house, I looked through my window.
7 And I saw among the fools, considered among the children, a young man destitute of understanding.
8 Who passed through the street by her corner and went toward her house;
9 in the twilight, in the evening, when the night began to be black and dark.
10 And behold, he was met by a woman with a harlot’s behavior, and subtle in heart.
11 (She is babbling and loud. Her feet cannot stay in her house.
12 Now outside. Now in the streets; lying in wait at every corner)
13 So she caught him and kissed him. And with an impudent face, said to him,
14 “I have peace offerings. Today I have paid my vows.
15 “Therefore I came forth to meet you, that I might seek your face. And I have found you.
16 “I have decked my bed with ornaments, carpets and laces of Egypt.
17 “I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning. Let us take our pleasure in dalliance.
19 “For my husband is not at home. He is gone on a far-off journey.
20 “He has taken with him a bag of silver and will come home at the day appointed.”
21 Thus with her great craftiness she caused him to yield. And with her flattering lips she enticed him.
22 And he followed her immediately, as an ox that goes to the slaughter; and as a fool to the stocks for correction,
23 till an arrow strikes through his liver. As a bird hastes to the snare, not knowing that he is in danger.
24 Hear me now, therefore, O children, and listen to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not wander in her paths.
26 For she has caused many to fall down wounded; the strong men all slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to the grave which goes down to the chambers of death.
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