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New Testament
Proverbs 7
Tenth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Protects You
From Adultery and Death
71My son, guard what I say.
Keep my commands with you.
2Obey my commands so that you may live.
Protect my teachings like the pupil of your eye.
3Tie them to your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister,”
5She will keep you safe from an immoral woman,
from an unfaithful woman and her seductive words.
Lady Wisdom's Warning
6At a window of my house, I looked out through the lattice.
Among the young men I noticed a youth without sense.
8He was crossing the street near her corner,
strolling along the road to her house,
9in the twilight, in the evening of the day,
10Suddenly a woman meets him.
She is dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart!
11She is loud and rebellious.
Her feet will not stay home.
12One moment she is in the street.
The next moment she is in the public square.
She is on the prowl near every corner.
13She grabs him and kisses him.
With a brazen face she says,
14“I have food from fellowship offerings.
Today I fulfilled my vows.
15That is why I came out to meet you.
I came eagerly to seek you,
and now I have found you!
16I have covered my couch with a bedspread,
with colored cloth made of Egyptian yarn.
17I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Let's enjoy making love.
19Look, my husband isn't home.
He has gone on a long trip.
20He took a bag of silver with him.
He will not come home till the next full moon.”
21She deceives him with enticing words.
With smooth lips she seduces him.
22He follows right after her,
like a steer going to slaughter,
23until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird darting into a trap.
He does not realize this will cost him his life.
24Now, you sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to the words from my mouth.
25Do not let your heart turn in her direction.
Do not wander on her pathways,
26because she has brought down many victims.
Those she has killed are countless.
It goes down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- 7:4 Or close friend
- 7:7 Or naïve
- 7:9 Literally in the pupil of the night and darkness
- 7:18 The Hebrew word refers to physical expressions of love.
- 7:22 The ancient versions support the translation. The Hebrew text reads like an anklet to the discipline of a fool. Reading the word for fool as the very similar word for deer leads to the translation above. The context seems to require the trapping of an animal.
- 7:27 Or on the highway to hell. The Hebrew word is sheol.