Proverbs 7

Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress1

7:1 My child,2 keep my words

and treasure up my commands in your own keeping.3

7:2 Keep my commands4 so that you may live,5

and obey6 my instruction as your most prized possession.7

7:3 Bind them on your forearm;8

write them on the tablet of your heart.9

7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”10

and call understanding a close relative,

7:5 so that they may keep you11 from the adulterous12 woman,

from the loose woman13 who flatters you14 with her words.15

7:6 For at the window of my house

through my window lattice I looked out

7:7 and I saw among the naive –

I discerned among the youths16

a young man17 who lacked wisdom.18

7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner,

making his way19 along the road to her house20

7:9 in the twilight, the evening,21

in the dark of the night.22

7:10 Suddenly23 a woman came out to meet him!

She was dressed like a prostitute24 and with secret intent.25

7:11 (She is loud and rebellious,

she26 does not remain27 at home –

7:12 at one time outside, at another28 in the wide plazas,

and by every corner she lies in wait.)

7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,

and with a bold expression29 she said to him,

7:14 “I have30 fresh meat at home;31

today I have fulfilled my vows!

7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,

to look for you,32 and I found you!

7:16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings,33

with richly colored fabric34 from Egypt.

7:17 I have perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

7:18 Come, let’s drink deeply35 of lovemaking36 until morning,

let’s delight ourselves37 with sexual intercourse.38

7:19 For my husband39 is not at home;40

he has gone on a journey of some distance.

7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him;41

he will not return until42 the end of the month.”43

7:21 She persuaded him44 with persuasive words;45

with her smooth talk46 she compelled him.47

7:22 Suddenly he went48 after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare49

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver50

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life.51

7:24 So now, sons,52 listen to me,

and pay attention to the words I speak.53

7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways –

do not wander into her pathways;

7:26 for she has brought down54 many fatally wounded,

and all those she has slain are many.55

7:27 Her house is the way to the grave,56

going down57 to the chambers58 of death.

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