Proverbs 7

HCSB

Proverbs 7

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My son, obey my words,
and treasure my commands.^(A)

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Keep my commands and live;^(B)
protect my teachings
as the pupil of your eye.^(C)

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Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.^(D)

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Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”^(E)
and call understanding your relative.

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She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a stranger with her flattering talk.^(F)

A Story of Seduction

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At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.^(G)

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I saw among the inexperienced,^(a)
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.

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Crossing the street near her corner,
he strolled down the road to her house

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at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.^(H)

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A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,^(I)
having a hidden agenda.^(b)

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She is loud and defiant;^(J)
her feet do not stay at home.^(K)

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Now in the street, now in the squares,^(L)
she lurks at every corner.^(M)

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She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says^(c) to him,

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“I’ve made fellowship offerings;^(d)
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.^(N)

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So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.

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I’ve spread coverings on my bed^(O)—
richly colored linen from Egypt.^(P)

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I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.^(Q)

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Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.^(R)
Let’s feast on each other’s love!

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My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.

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He took a bag of money with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

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She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering^(e) talk.

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He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap^(f)

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until an arrow pierces its^(g) liver,^(S)
like a bird darting into a snare^(T)—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

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Now, my sons, listen to me,
and pay attention to the words of my mouth.

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Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways;
don’t stray onto her paths.^(U)

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For she has brought many down to death;
her victims are countless.^(h)

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Her house is the road to Sheol,
descending to the chambers of death.^(V)

Footnotes:

a. Proverbs 7:7: Or simple, or gullible, or naive

b. Proverbs 7:10: Or prostitute with a guarded heart

c. Proverbs 7:13: Lit she makes her face strong and says

d. Proverbs 7:14: Meat from a fellowship offering had to be eaten on the day it was offered; therefore she is inviting him to a feast at her house.

e. Proverbs 7:21: Lit smooth

f. Proverbs 7:22: Text emended; MT reads like a shackle to the discipline of a fool; Hb obscure

g. Proverbs 7:23: Or his

h. Proverbs 7:26: Or and powerful men are all her victims

Cross references:

A. Proverbs 7:1: Proverbs 2:1

B. Proverbs 7:2: Proverbs 3:1-2; Proverbs 4:4; Proverbs 6:23; Proverbs 19:16

C. Proverbs 7:2: Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 17:8

D. Proverbs 7:3: Deuteronomy 11:18; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 6:21

E. Proverbs 7:4: Song of Solomon 4:9

F. Proverbs 7:5: Proverbs 5:3; Proverbs 5:20; Proverbs 6:24; Proverbs 7:21

G. Proverbs 7:6: Judges 5:28

H. Proverbs 7:9: Job 24:15

I. Proverbs 7:10: Genesis 38:14-15

J. Proverbs 7:11: Proverbs 9:13

K. Proverbs 7:11: 1 Timothy 5:13

L. Proverbs 7:12: Proverbs 5:16; Proverbs 9:14

M. Proverbs 7:12: Proverbs 23:28

N. Proverbs 7:14: Leviticus 7:11-18; Deuteronomy 23:18; Psalm 56:12

O. Proverbs 7:16: Proverbs 31:22

P. Proverbs 7:16: Ezekiel 27:7

Q. Proverbs 7:17: Exodus 30:23; Psalm 45:8

R. Proverbs 7:18: Song of Solomon 5:1

S. Proverbs 7:21: Proverbs 2:16-19; Proverbs 5:3-6; Proverbs 23:27-28

T. Proverbs 7:23: Ecclesiastes 9:12

U. Proverbs 7:25: Proverbs 5:8

V. Proverbs 7:27: Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 9:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9