Proverbs — Chapter 7
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1My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
1My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.
2Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye.
3Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.
4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding [thy] kinswoman:
5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words.
6For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;
7And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding,
8Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house,
9In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.
11She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house:
12Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner.
13So she caught him, and kissed him, [And] with an impudent face she said unto him:
14Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows.
15Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; Let us solace ourselves with loves.
19For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey:
20He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon.
21With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
22He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as [one in] fetters to the correction of the fool;
23Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.
24Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth.
25Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths.
26For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.
27Her house is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death.
1My child, devote yourself to my words and store up my commands inside yourself.
2Keep my commands so that you may live, and obey my instruction as your most prized possession.
3Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding a close relative
5so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the loose woman who has flattered you with her words.
6For at the window of my house through my window lattice I looked out,
7and I saw among the naive— I discerned among the youths— a young man who lacked sense.
8He was passing by the street near her corner, making his way along the road to her house
9in the twilight, the evening, in the dark of the night.
10Suddenly a woman came out to meet him! She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent.
11(She is loud and rebellious; she does not remain at home—
12at one time outside, at another in the wide plazas, and by every corner she lies in wait.)
13So she grabbed him and kissed him, and with a bold expression she said to him,
14“I have meat from my peace offerings at home; today I have fulfilled my vows!
15That is why I came out to meet you, to look for you, and I found you!
16I have spread my bed with elegant coverings, with richly colored fabric from Egypt.
17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning; let’s delight ourselves with love’s pleasures.
19For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a journey of some distance.
20He has taken a bag of money with him; he will not return until the end of the month.”
21She turned him aside with her persuasions; with her smooth talk she was enticing him along.
22Suddenly he was going after her like an ox that goes to the slaughter, like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare
23till an arrow pierces his liver— like a bird hurrying into a trap, and he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24So now, sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words I speak.
25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways— do not wander into her pathways;
26for she has brought down many fatally wounded, and all those she has slain are many.
27Her house is the way to the grave, going down to the chambers of death.
1My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.
2Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
5that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.
7I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
8passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,
9in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.
11She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.
12Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.
13So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:
14“Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. Today I have paid my vows.
15Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.
16I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
19For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey.
20He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.”
21With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
22He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
23Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.
24Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray in her paths,
26for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.
27Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the rooms of death.
Summary
A vivid narrative warning — the father describes watching a naive young man seduced by an adulterous woman with flattery and false security; he follows her 'as an ox goeth to the slaughter.'
Authorship & Background
- Command: Treasure Wisdom as Protection (vv.1-5)
- Narrative: The Seduction Witnessed (vv.6-23)
- Conclusion: Warning and Death Toll (vv.24-27)
Map & Geography
- Egypt (v.16): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes that the young man's first mistake was location: "passing through the street near her corner" (v.8). He didn't fall suddenly — he positioned himself for failure gradually. Guzik notes the woman's use of religious language (v.14) to justify sin — she has "paid her vows" and now invites him to a feast of leftover fellowship offerings. Religion becomes the alibi. The animal imagery (vv.22-23) shows that the seduced man has lost his human dignity — he is reduced to a dumb animal being led to death.
- Charles Spurgeon: "Many STRONG men have been slain by her. Not merely the weak and foolish — the strong. Samson was strong; David was a man after God's own heart; Solomon himself was the wisest man alive. All fell. If you think your strength will preserve you, you have already begun to fall. The only safety is distance — do not go near her door. The man who trusts his own willpower in the presence of temptation is already an ox on its way to slaughter."
Reflection
- 1. Location matters (v.8). The young man's first mistake was being near her corner at night. He didn't plan to sin — he planned to be nearby. Where are you putting yourself that makes temptation easy? Avoid the street, the app, the conversation, the situation. Your feet decide your fate.
- 2. Sin is planned; you must plan against it (vv.10-20). She prepared the bed, the perfume, the speech, the timing. If sin plans this carefully, your defense must be equally intentional. Casual resistance fails against calculated temptation. Plan your escape routes before you need them.
- 3. Words have seductive power (v.21). "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield." The ear is the gateway. What voices are you listening to? What smooth words are eroding your resolve? Guard your ears as carefully as your eyes.
- 4. You are not stronger than the strong men who fell (v.26). "Many strong men have been slain." Don't trust your own strength. If David fell, if Samson fell, if Solomon himself fell — humility is your only safety. Acknowledge your weakness and let that acknowledgment drive you to dependence on God.
- 5. The end is death (v.27). "Her house is the way to hell." No ambiguity. No middle ground. The path of sexual sin leads to death — death of marriage, death of reputation, death of intimacy with God, potentially death of the body. Count the cost before you take the first step.