Chapter Overview
Summary
Proverbs 7 is the third-and-most-extended adulteress-warning — a narrative-exemplum featuring a 'young man lacking sense' (v. 7) who walks near her house at twilight and is seduced. The chapter's narrative-structure — with extended-dialogue from the seductress and graphic description of the bedroom-decoration (vv. 16–17) — makes this the Bible's most-realistic scene-of-seduction. The closing warning (vv. 24–27) summarizes: 'her house is the way to Sheol.'
Notable Variants
7:4 'say to wisdom: You are my sister' — wisdom-as-sister intimate-familial relation; 7:7 'a young man lacking sense' — the naive-victim pattern; 7:22 'like an ox to the slaughter' — the consequence imagery; 7:27 'her house is the way to Sheol' — adulteress-house as Sheol-passage.
Structural Notes
MT Prov 7 = LXX Prov 7. 27 verses.
My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you.
'My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you' tracks MT.
Keep my commands and live; guard my instruction like the pupil of your eye.
'Keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye' tracks MT. APPLE-OF-YOUR-EYE — preciousness imagery (Deut 32:10, Zech 2:8).
Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
'Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart' tracks MT.
Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and call understanding your close relative,
'Say to wisdom: You are my sister, and call insight your intimate friend' tracks MT. WISDOM-AS-SISTER. The family-analogy makes wisdom a covenant-intimate. Song of Songs 4:9 (beloved as 'my sister, my bride') extends the intimate-family-language.
to guard you from the forbidden woman, from the outsider who makes her words smooth.
'To keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words' tracks MT.
For at the window of my house, through my lattice, I looked down,
'For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice' tracks MT. NARRATIVE FRAME begins — the teacher as witness.
and I observed among the naive — I noticed among the young men — a youth who lacked sense.
'And I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense' tracks MT.
passing through the street near her corner, walking toward her house,
'Passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house' tracks MT.
at twilight, as evening fell, in the darkness of deepening night.
'In the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness' tracks MT. TWILIGHT-SCENE — darkness as-moral-cover.
And there — a woman comes to meet him, dressed as a prostitute, with a guarded heart.
'And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart' tracks MT.
She is loud and brazen; her feet never stay at home.
'She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home' tracks MT.
Now in the street, now in the squares, lurking at every corner.
'Now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait' tracks MT.
She seizes him and kisses him; with a brazen face she says to him,
'She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him' tracks MT.
'I had to offer fellowship sacrifices; today I fulfilled my vows.
'I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows' tracks MT. 'SACRIFICES-AND-VOWS' — religious-pretext for sin. The seductress uses piety-language as cover. 2 Peter 2:2–3's 'false teachers' exploiting religious-veneer echoes the pattern.
So I came out to meet you, to seek your face eagerly — and I have found you!
'So now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you' tracks MT.
I have spread my couch with coverings, with colored linens from Egypt.
'I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen' tracks MT. DETAILED-BEDROOM imagery — Egyptian-linen luxury.
I have scented my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
'I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon' tracks MT. MYRRH-ALOES-CINNAMON perfumes — the same aromatic-triad appears at Ps 45:8 (royal-wedding) and John 19:39 (Jesus' burial spices). The seductress's-bed parodies sacred-use of the aromatics.
Come, let us drink deeply of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with passion.
'Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love' tracks MT.
For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a distant journey.
'For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey' tracks MT. HUSBAND-AWAY — the classical-adultery opportunity-framing.
He took a bag of silver with him; he will not return until the full moon.'
'He took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home' tracks MT.
She sways him with her abundant persuasion; with the smoothness of her lips she pushes him over.
'With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him' tracks MT.
He follows her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter,
'All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast' tracks MT. OX-TO-SLAUGHTER / STAG-CAUGHT — violent-unwitting consequence imagery. Romans 8:36's 'sheep for slaughter' shares the passive-victim vocabulary.
like a deer stepping into a noose until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird rushing into a trap, not knowing it will cost him his life.
'Till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life' tracks MT.
So now, sons, listen to me; pay attention to the words of my mouth.
'And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth' tracks MT. PASTORAL-APPEAL — the lesson-from-the-narrative.
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray onto her paths.
'Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths' tracks MT.
For many are the victims she has brought down; numerous are all those she has killed.
'For many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng' tracks MT. MANY-VICTIMS warning.
Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.
'Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death' tracks MT. HOUSE-IS-WAY-TO-SHEOL closing. Cf. Prov 2:18, 5:5, 9:18.