Proverbs 7
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 7
1 My son, keep my words
and make my commands your treasure.
2 Follow my precepts, and you will live;
keep my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them to your fingers;
inscribe them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[a] “You are my sister,”
and regard understanding as your friend,
5 so that they may keep you from another’s wife,
from the adulteress with her seductive words.
6 While standing at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
7 and as I glanced at the immature youths,
I observed among the simple ones[b]
a lad with no sense.
8 He walked along the street near her corner
and then turned in the direction near her house,
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
at dusk when the night grows dark.
10 Then a woman came forth to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart.
11 She was loud-mouthed and brazen,
one who is never content to rest at home,
12 always on the streets or the public squares,
lying in wait at every corner.
13 She caught him and kissed him,
and brazenly said to him:
14 “I had to make sacrificial peace offerings,[c]
and I have fulfilled my vows today.
15 And so I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and now I have found you.
16 I have spread coverlets over my bed,
covered sheets of Egyptian linen.[d]
17 “I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning,
abandoning ourselves to a feast of love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
he is away on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him
and will not be back until the moon is full.”
21 With her persistent urging she persuaded him,
luring him astray with her seductive words.[e]
22 Bemused, he followed her,
like an ox being led to the slaughter,
like a stag stepping into a noose,
23 until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird rushing into a snare,
not realizing its life is at stake.
24 So now, my son, listen to me
and be attentive to what I have to say.
25 Do not let your heart stray into her ways
or wander into her paths.
26 For many are those she has led to death;
her victims are beyond number.
27 Her house is the pathway to the netherworld,[f]
the descent to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:4 Wisdom: i.e., the body of knowledge of life handed down by the sages.
- Proverbs 7:7 The simple ones: see note on Prov 1:4.
- Proverbs 7:14 Sacrificial peace offerings: in this type of offering, part of the meat was eaten by the one who brought it and by his friends or family (see Lev 7:11-18). I have fulfilled my vows today: a fellowship offering was offered as the result of a vow, and it had to be eaten on the first or second day (see Lev 7:15-16).
- Proverbs 7:16 Covered sheets of Egyptian linen: in Prov 31:22, linen is associated with wealth, and Egyptian linen was very highly regarded.
- Proverbs 7:21 Persistent urging . . . seductive words: see notes on Prov 2:16; 5:3; see also v. 5; 6:24.
- Proverbs 7:27 Pathway to the netherworld: see notes on Prov 2:18; 5:5; see also Prov 14:12; 16:25; Mt 7:13; 1 Cor 6:9-10.
Proverbios 7
Reina-Valera Antigua
7 HIJO mío, guarda mis razones, Y encierra contigo mis mandamientos.
2 Guarda mis mandamientos, y vivirás; Y mi ley como las niñas de tus ojos.
3 Lígalos á tus dedos; Escríbelos en la tabla de tu corazón.
4 Di á la sabiduría: Tú eres mi hermana; Y á la inteligencia llama parienta:
5 Para que te guarden de la mujer ajena, Y de la extraña que ablanda sus palabras.
6 Porque mirando yo por la ventana de mi casa, Por mi celosía,
7 Vi entre los simples, Consideré entre los jóvenes, Un mancebo falto de entendimiento,
8 El cual pasaba por la calle, junto á la esquina de aquella, E iba camino de su casa,
9 A la tarde del día, ya que oscurecía, En la oscuridad y tiniebla de la noche.
10 Y he aquí, una mujer que le sale al encuentro Con atavío de ramera, astuta de corazón,
11 Alborotadora y rencillosa, Sus pies no pueden estar en casa;
12 Unas veces de fuera, ó bien por las plazas, Acechando por todas las esquinas.
13 Y traba de él, y bésalo; Desvergonzó su rostro, y díjole:
14 Sacrificios de paz había prometido, Hoy he pagado mis votos;
15 Por tanto he salido á encontrarte, Buscando diligentemente tu rostro, y te he hallado.
16 Con paramentos he ataviado mi cama, Recamados con cordoncillo de Egipto.
17 He sahumado mi cámara Con mirra, áloes, y cinamomo.
18 Ven, embriaguémonos de amores hasta la mañana; Alegrémonos en amores.
19 Porque el marido no está en casa, Hase ido á un largo viaje:
20 El saco de dinero llevó en su mano; El día señalado volverá á su casa.
21 Rindiólo con la mucha suavidad de sus palabras, Obligóle con la blandura de sus labios.
22 Vase en pos de ella luego, Como va el buey al degolladero, Y como el loco á las prisiones para ser castigado;
23 Como el ave que se apresura al lazo, Y no sabe que es contra su vida, Hasta que la saeta traspasó su hígado.
24 Ahora pues, hijos, oidme, Y estad atentos á las razones de mi boca.
25 No se aparte á sus caminos tu corazón; No yerres en sus veredas.
26 Porque á muchos ha hecho caer heridos; Y aun los más fuertes han sido muertos por ella.
27 Caminos del sepulcro son su casa, Que descienden á las cámaras de la muerte.
