Font Size
Mishle 7
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Mishle 7
Orthodox Jewish Bible
7 Beni (my son), be shomer over my words, and treasure up my mitzvot with thee.
2 Be shomer over my mitzvot, and live, and over my torah as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the luach (tablet) of thine lev.
4 Say unto chochmah, Thou art my achot; and call binah (understanding) thy kinsman;
5 That they may be shomer over thee and keep thee from the zarah, from the nokhriyah with her smooth words.
6 For at the chalon (window) of my bais I looked through my lattice,
7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the banim, a na’ar (young man) devoid of lev [of understanding, sense],
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went on the derech to her bais,
9 In the twilight, at erev, in the black and dark lailah;
10 And, hinei, there met him an isha with the attire of a zonah, and crafty of lev
11 —She is loud and soreret (rebellious, defiant); her raglayim abide not in her bais;
12 Now is she without, now in the rechovot, and lurketh in wait at every pinnah (corner)—
13 So she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with a brazen ponem said unto him,
14 I have zivkhei shelamim vowed; this yom have I payed my neder.
15 Al ken (therefore) came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with a bedspread of fine linen of Mitzrayim.
17 I have perfumed my mishkav (bed) with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of dodim (loves) until boker; let us delight ourselves with ahavim (loves, pl. of intensity).
19 For the ish (man, i.e., husband) is not b’bais, he is gone a derech merachok (distant journey);
20 He hath taken a bag of kesef with him, and will come back to his bais at the appointed time.
21 By her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with the smoothness of her sfatayim she seduced him.
22 He goeth after her and followeth immediately, as a shor (ox) goeth to tavach (stock yard, slaughter-house), or as the fettered to the musar of the fool;
23 Till a khetz (arrow) strike through his liver; as a tzippor hasteth to the pach (snare), and knoweth not that it is for his nefesh (life).
24 Pay heed unto me now therefore, O ye banim, and attend to the words of my peh (mouth).
25 Let not thine lev turn aside to her drakhim; go not astray in her netivot (trodden paths).
26 For she hath cast down many chalalim (wounded); indeed, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her bais is the drakhei Sheol, going down to the chadarim (chambers, rooms) of mavet (death). [T.N. The off-stage character here in chp 7 has been the cuckold. Because of her Ba’al affair, Hashem became the cuckold of Israel even as Hosea became the cuckold of Gomer.]
Proverbs 7
New International Version
Proverbs 7
New International Version
Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
7 My son,(A) keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;(B)
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(C)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(D)
6 At the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.(E)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight,(F) as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(G) and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)(H)
13 She took hold of him(I) and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:(J)
14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,
and I have food from my fellowship offering(K) at home.
15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed(L)
with myrrh,(M) aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!(N)
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon.”
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.(O)
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer[a] stepping into a noose[b](P)
23 till an arrow pierces(Q) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.(R)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.