Proverbs7
New King James Version
1 My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and live, And my law 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 nearest kin,
5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,
8 Passing along 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, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him; With an 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, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us 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 will come home on the appointed day.”
21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.
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Proverbs 7Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Proverbs 7. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Invitations to learn wisdom. (1–5). The arts of seducers, with warnings against them. (6–27).
vv1-5
We must lay up God's commandments safely. Not only, Keep them, and you shall live; but, Keep them as those that cannot live without them. Those that blame strict and careful walking as needless and too precise, consider not that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye; indeed the law in the heart is the eye of the soul. Let the word of God dwell in us, and so be written where it will be always at hand to be read. Thus we shall be kept from the fatal effects of our own passions, and the snares of Satan. Let God's word confirm our dread of sin, and resolutions against it.
vv6-27
Here is an affecting example of the danger of youthful lusts. It is a history or a parable of the most instructive kind. Will any one dare to venture on temptations that lead to impurity, after Solomon has set before his eyes in so lively and plain a manner, the danger of even going near them? Then is he as the man who would dance on the edge of a lofty rock, when he has just seen another fall headlong from the same place. The misery of self-ruined sinners began in disregard to God's blessed commands. We ought daily to pray that we may be kept from running into temptation, else we invite the enemies of our souls to spread snares for us. Ever avoid the neighbourhood of vice. Beware of sins which are said to be pleasant sins. They are the more dangerous, because they most easily gain the heart, and close it against repentance. Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it. Were a man to live as long as Methuselah, and to spend all his days in the highest delights sin can offer, one hour of the anguish and tribulation that must follow, would far outweigh them.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
שָׁמַר: properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.
אֵמֶר: something said
צָפַן: to hide (by covering over); by implication, to hoard or reserve; figuratively to deny; specifically (favorably) to protect, (unfavorably) to lurk
מִצְוָה: a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)
חָיָה: to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively, to revive
תּוֹרָה: a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch
אִישׁוֹן: the little man of the eye; the pupil or ball; hence, the middle (of night)
עַיִן: an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
קָשַׁר: to tie, physically (gird, confine, compact) or mentally (in love, league)
Cross References
Proverbs 7Uses the identical highly descriptive idiom 'apple of the eye' representing custody of special value.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Establishes the Mosaic law that peace offerings must be eaten on the day of offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel command to write wisdom's precepts upon the table of the heart.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct textual match regarding how parental and divine commands keep a youth from the strange woman.
Supported by JFB
Direct parallel linking a lack of understanding with yielding to sexual temptation.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the harlot whose feet 'abide not in her house' with the godly duty of keepers at home.
Supported by JFB
The Mosaic source command to bind God's words upon the hand and fingers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Connects the 'simple' youth lacking judgment to the very audience Proverbs aims to instruct.
Supported by JFB
Echoes the pattern of wandering idle and going from house to house in search of mischief.
Supported by JFB
Specifies that peace offerings must be of the best animal, indicating a luxurious feast prepared.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the warning against the deceptive allure of the strange woman's flattering, sweet lips.
Supported by JFB
Repeats the theme of wisdom preserving a young man from the stranger's flattering words.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Uses identical Hebrew imagery of looking intently through a window or lattice/casement.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the sudden capture and destruction of a soul caught by the adulteress.
Supported by JFB
Provides the historical example of Solomon himself, a strong king cast down by strange women.
Supported by Matthew Poole