Proverbs 7
Warning Against the Adulteress
1 My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings 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 kinsman;
5 they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.
6 At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.
8 He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
14 "I have fellowship offerings a]">[a] at home; today I fulfilled my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love!
19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."
21 With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.
22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer b]">[b] stepping into a noose c]">[c]
23 till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
24 Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.
26 Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is a highway to the grave, d]">[d] leading down to the chambers of death.
- Proverbs 7:14 Traditionally peace offerings
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Proverbs 7:27 Hebrew Sheol
8 commands to sons:
1. Keep my words - guard against breaking God's commandments (v 1)
2. Lay up my commandments - take them into your bosom and into your heart (v 1)
3. Keep my commandments and live (v 2)
4. Keep my law as you would the pupil of the eye (v 2; Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 17:8; Zechariah 2:12)
5. Bind them upon your fingers (v 3)
6. Write them upon the table of your heart (v 3)
7. Make wisdom your sister (v 4)
8. Make understanding your kinswoman.
These last two expressions indicate acquaintance with wisdom and knowledge. The word kinswoman is used only here and in Ruth 2:1
These commands are warnings preparatory to the longer admonition against adultery, which is an often referred to subject with Solomon due to his many bitter experiences with strange woman.
He generally gave such commands before dealing with the subject (2:1-10 with 2:12,16; 5:1-2 with 5:3-6; 5:7 with 5:8:14; 5:15-19 with 5:20-23; 6:20-23 with 6:24-35; 7:1-4 with 7:5-23; 7:24 with 7:25-27; 9:1-6 with 9:13-18)
8 facts: A foolish young man I saw:
1. Among the simple, the young man (v 7; 1:4)
2. He was void of understanding. He did not have wisdom to discern the evil intended by the whore, nor did he have the character and courage to resist her flatteries (v 7)
3. He walked along the street near her corner where she waited for victims (v 8)
4. He went the way to her house (which was not necessarily on the corner (v 8, 12)
5. In the night he passed by where she waited on the corner (v 9)
6. He was met by the harlot (v 10)
7. He was persuaded by her to spend the night with her (v 11-21)
8. He went to his doom as an ox to the slaughter, as a fool to his punishment, and as a bird to the snare (v 22-23)
10 points about harlots:
1. Their attire or marks that advertise them for hire (v 10; Genesis 38)
2. Their subtilty of heart (v 10)
3. Their boisterous and loud disposition (v 11)
4. Their gad about disposition (v 11-12)
5. Their stubbornness and persistence in pursuing innocent victims (v 11).
They have no respect for the good of men, married or unmarried, innocent or guilty of immoral crimes. They gloat over causing young men to fall into sin and husbands to go astray
6. They are bold, unashamed, impudent, and unlawfully familiar (v 13)
7. They are flatterers (v 5, 14-21)
8. They are deceitful of heart (v 13-21)
9. They are liars (v 14-21)
10. They are tempters and seducers (v 13-21)
