Add parallel Print Page Options

The Foolishness of Unfaithfulness

My son, pay close attention
and don't forget
    what I tell you to do.
Obey me, and you will live!
Let my instructions be
    your greatest treasure.
Keep them at your fingertips
and write them
    in your mind.
Let wisdom be your sister
and make common sense
    your closest friend.
They will protect you
from the flattering words
    of someone else's wife.

From the window of my house,
I once happened to see
    some foolish young men.
It was late in the evening,
    sometime after dark.
One of these young men
    turned the corner
and was walking by the house
    of an unfaithful wife.
10 She was dressed fancy
like a woman of the street
    with only one thing in mind.
11 She was one of those women
who are loud and restless
    and never stay at home,
12 who walk street after street,
    waiting to trap a man.

13 She grabbed him and kissed him,
and with no sense of shame,
    she said:
14 “I had to offer a sacrifice,
and there is enough meat
    left over for a feast.
15 So I came looking for you,
    and here you are!
16 The sheets on my bed
are bright-colored cloth
    from Egypt.
17 And I have covered it
with perfume made of myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.

18 “Let's go there
    and make love all night.
19 My husband is traveling,
    and he's far away.
20 He took a lot of money along,
    and he won't be back home
before the middle
    of the month.”

21 And so, she tricked him
with all of her sweet talk
    and her flattery.
22 At once he followed her
like an ox on the way
    to be slaughtered,
or like a fool on the way
to be punished[a]
23     and killed with arrows.
He was no more than a bird
    rushing into a trap,
without knowing
    it would cost him his life.

24 My son, pay close attention
    to what I have said.
25 Don't even think about
    that kind of woman
or let yourself be misled
    by someone like her.
26 Such a woman has caused
the downfall and destruction
    of a lot of men.
27 Her house is a one-way street
leading straight down
    to the world of the dead.

Footnotes

  1. 7.22 a fool … punished: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Warning Against the Adulterous Woman

My son,(A) keep my words
    and store up my commands within you.
Keep my commands and you will live;(B)
    guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.(C)
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and to insight, “You are my relative.”
They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(D)

At the window of my house
    I looked down through the lattice.
I saw among the simple,
    I noticed among the young men,
    a youth who had no sense.(E)
He was going down the street near her corner,
    walking along in the direction of her house
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)

24 Now then, my sons, listen(S) to me;
    pay attention to what I say.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
    or stray into her paths.(T)
26 Many are the victims she has brought down;
    her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is a highway to the grave,
    leading down to the chambers of death.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
  2. Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.