Proverbs 7
Easy-to-Read Version
Wisdom Will Keep You From Adultery
7 My son, remember my words. Don’t forget what I have told you. 2 Consider my teaching as precious as your own eyes. Obey my commands, and you will have a good life. 3 Tie them around your finger. Write them on your heart. 4 Treat wisdom like the woman you love and knowledge like the one dearest to you. 5 Wisdom will save you from that other woman, the other man’s wife, who tempts you with such sweet words.
6 One day I was looking out my window 7 at some foolish teenagers and noticed one who had no sense at all. 8 He was walking through the marketplace and came to the corner where a certain woman lived. He then turned up the road that goes by her house. 9 The day was ending. The sun had set, and it was almost dark. 10 Suddenly, there she was in front of him, dressed like a prostitute. She had plans for him. 11 She was a wild and rebellious woman who would not stay at home. 12 She walked the streets, always looking for someone to trap. 13 She grabbed the young man and kissed him. Without shame, she looked him in the eye and said, 14 “I offered a fellowship offering today. I gave what I promised to give, 15 and I still have plenty of food left. So I came out to find you, and here you are! 16 I have clean sheets on my bed—special ones from Egypt. 17 My bed smells wonderful with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let’s enjoy ourselves all night. We can make love until dawn. 19 My husband has gone on a business trip. 20 He took enough money for a long trip and won’t be home for two weeks.[a]”
21 This is what the woman said to tempt the young man, and her smooth words tricked him. 22 He followed her, like a bull being led to the slaughter. He was like a deer walking into a trap, 23 where a hunter waits to shoot an arrow through its heart. The boy was like a bird flying into a net, never seeing the danger he was in.
24 Now, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. 25 Don’t let your heart lead you to an evil woman like that. Don’t go where she wants to lead you. 26 She has brought down some of the most powerful men; she has left many dead bodies in her path. 27 Her house is the place of death. The road to it leads straight to the grave.
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 7:20 won’t be … weeks Literally, “will not come home until the full moon.” The fellowship offering (see verse 14) was usually at the time of the new moon, the first day of the Hebrew month, which was two weeks before the full moon.
Proverbs 7
New Living Translation
Another Warning about Immoral Women
7 Follow my advice, my son;
always treasure my commands.
2 Obey my commands and live!
Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.[a]
3 Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
4 Love wisdom like a sister;
make insight a beloved member of your family.
5 Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
6 While I was at the window of my house,
looking through the curtain,
7 I saw some naive young men,
and one in particular who lacked common sense.
8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
strolling down the path by her house.
9 It was at twilight, in the evening,
as deep darkness fell.
10 The woman approached him,
seductively dressed and sly of heart.
11 She was the brash, rebellious type,
never content to stay at home.
12 She is often in the streets and markets,
soliciting at every corner.
13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
and with a brazen look she said,
14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings
and fulfilled my vows.
15 You’re the one I was looking for!
I came out to find you, and here you are!
16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,
with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
19 for my husband is not home.
He’s away on a long trip.
20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him
and won’t return until later this month.[b]”
21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech
and enticed him with her flattery.
22 He followed her at once,
like an ox going to the slaughter.
He was like a stag caught in a trap,[c]
23 awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart.
He was like a bird flying into a snare,
little knowing it would cost him his life.
24 So listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to my words.
25 Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
26 For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.
27 Her house is the road to the grave.[d]
Her bedroom is the den of death.
Proverbs 7
Amplified Bible
The Wiles of the Prostitute
7 My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].
2
Keep my commandments and live,
And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye.
3
Bind them [securely] on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4
Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;
5
That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the foreigner [who does not observe God’s laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.
6
For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice.
7
And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible],
I saw among the youths
A young man lacking [good] sense,
8
Passing through the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9
In the twilight, in the evening;
In the black and dark night.
10
And there a woman met him,
Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.
11
She was boisterous and rebellious;
[a]She would not stay at home.
12
At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places,
Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.
13
So she caught him and kissed him
And with a brazen and 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 [that you might share with me the feast of my offering],
Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.
16
“I have spread my couch with coverings and cushions of tapestry,
With colored fine linen of Egypt.
17
“I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18
“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us console and delight ourselves with love.
19
“For my husband is not at home.
He has gone on a long journey;
20
He has taken a bag of money with him,
And he will come home on the appointed day.”
21
With her many persuasions she caused him to yield;
With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22
Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome],
Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,
23
Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound];
Like a bird fluttering straight into the net,
He did not know that it would cost him his life.
24
Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths.
26
For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded;
Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.(A)
27
Her house is the way to [b]Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.(B)
Notas al pie
- Proverbs 7:11 Lit Her feet do not.
- Proverbs 7:27 Hades, the nether world, the place of the dead.
Proverbs 7
The Message
Dressed to Seduce
7 1-5 Dear friend, do what I tell you;
treasure my careful instructions.
Do what I say and you’ll live well.
My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!
Write it out on the back of your hands;
etch it on the chambers of your heart.
Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.
Treat Insight as your companion.
They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress—
that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.
6-12 As I stood at the window of my house
looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
Brazen and brash she was,
restless and roaming, never at home,
Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,
hanging out at every corner in town.
13-20 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
boldly took his arm and said,
“I’ve got all the makings for a feast—
today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
So now I’ve come to find you,
hoping to catch sight of your face—and here you are!
I’ve spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed,
colorful imported linens.
My bed is aromatic with spices
and exotic fragrances.
Come, let’s make love all night,
spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
My husband’s not home; he’s away on business,
and he won’t be back for a month.”
21-23 Soon she has him eating out of her hand,
bewitched by her honeyed speech.
Before you know it, he’s trotting behind her,
like a calf led to the butcher shop,
Like a stag lured into ambush
and then shot with an arrow,
Like a bird flying into a net
not knowing that its flying life is over.
24-27 So, friends, listen to me,
take these words of mine most seriously.
Don’t fool around with a woman like that;
don’t even stroll through her neighborhood.
Countless victims come under her spell;
she’s the death of many a poor man.
She runs a halfway house to hell,
fits you out with a shroud and a coffin.
Proverbs 7
New Century Version
The Woman of Adultery
7 My son, remember what I say, and treasure my commands.
2 Obey my commands, and you will live.
Guard my teachings as you would your own eyes.
3 Remind yourself of them;
write them on your heart as if on a tablet.
4 Treat wisdom as a sister,
and make understanding your closest friend.
5 Wisdom and understanding will keep you away from adultery,
away from the unfaithful wife and her pleasing words.
6 Once while I was at the window of my house
I looked out through the shutters
7 and saw some foolish, young men.
I noticed one of them had no wisdom.
8 He was walking down the street near the corner
on the road leading to her house.
9 It was the twilight of the evening;
the darkness of the night was just beginning.
10 Then the woman approached him,
dressed like a prostitute
and planning to trick him.
11 She was loud and stubborn
and never stayed at home.
12 She was always out in the streets or in the city squares,
waiting around on the corners of the streets.
13 She grabbed him and kissed him.
Without shame she said to him,
14 “I made my fellowship offering and took some of the meat home.
Today I have kept my special promises.
15 So I have come out to meet you;
I have been looking for you and have found you.
16 I have covered my bed
with colored sheets from Egypt.
17 I have made my bed smell sweet
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s make love until morning.
Let’s enjoy each other’s love.
19 My husband is not home;
he has gone on a long trip.
20 He took a lot of money with him
and won’t be home for weeks.”
21 By her clever words she made him give in;
by her pleasing words she led him into doing wrong.
22 All at once he followed her,
like an ox led to the butcher,
like a deer caught in a trap
23 and shot through the liver with an arrow.
Like a bird caught in a trap,
he didn’t know what he did would kill him.
24 Now, my sons, listen to me;
pay attention to what I say.
25 Don’t let yourself be tricked by such a woman;
don’t go where she leads you.
26 She has ruined many good men,
and many have died because of her.
27 Her house is on the road to death,
the road that leads down to the grave.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
