Proverbs 7
New King James Version
The Wiles of a Harlot
7 My son, keep my words,
And (A)treasure my commands within you.
2 (B)Keep my commands and live,
(C)And my law as the apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your nearest kin,
5 (E)That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.
The Crafty Harlot
6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the [a]youths,
A young man (F)devoid[b] of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 (G)In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 (H)She was loud and rebellious,
(I)Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an [c]impudent face she said to him:
14 “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of (J)Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For [d]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money [e]with him,
And will come home [f]on the appointed day.”
21 [g]With (K)her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
(L)With her flattering lips she [h]seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or [i]as a fool to the correction of the [j]stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
(M)As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it [k]would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
And (N)all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 (O)Her house is the way to [l]hell,
Descending to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:7 Lit. sons
- Proverbs 7:7 lacking
- Proverbs 7:13 shameless
- Proverbs 7:19 Lit. the man
- Proverbs 7:20 Lit. in his hand
- Proverbs 7:20 at the full moon
- Proverbs 7:21 By the greatness of her words
- Proverbs 7:21 compelled
- Proverbs 7:22 LXX, Syr., Tg. as a dog to bonds; Vg. as a lamb . . . to bonds
- Proverbs 7:22 shackles
- Proverbs 7:23 Lit. is for
- Proverbs 7:27 Or Sheol
Proverbs 7
English Standard Version
Warning Against the Adulteress
7 (A)My son, keep my words
and (B)treasure up my commandments with you;
2 (C)keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as (D)the apple of your eye;
3 (E)bind them on your fingers;
(F)write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from (G)the forbidden[a] woman,
from (H)the adulteress[b] with her smooth words.
6 For at (I)the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among (J)the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man (K)lacking sense,
8 passing along the street (L)near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in (M)the twilight, in the evening,
at (N)the time of night and darkness.
10 And behold, the woman meets him,
(O)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[c]
11 She is (P)loud and (Q)wayward;
(R)her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
and (S)at every corner she (T)lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
and with (U)bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to (V)offer sacrifices,[d]
and today I have (W)paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (X)coverings,
colored linens from (Y)Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with (Z)myrrh,
aloes, and (AA)cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For (AB)my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with (AC)her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[e]
23 till an arrow pierces its liver;
as (AD)a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 And (AE)now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are (AF)a mighty throng.
27 Her house is (AG)the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
- Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart
- Proverbs 7:14 Hebrew peace offerings
- Proverbs 7:22 Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as a chain to discipline a fool
Proverbs 7
Easy-to-Read Version
Wisdom Will Keep You From Adultery
7 My son, remember my words. Don’t forget what I have told you. 2 Consider my teaching as precious as your own eyes. Obey my commands, and you will have a good life. 3 Tie them around your finger. Write them on your heart. 4 Treat wisdom like the woman you love and knowledge like the one dearest to you. 5 Wisdom will save you from that other woman, the other man’s wife, who tempts you with such sweet words.
6 One day I was looking out my window 7 at some foolish teenagers and noticed one who had no sense at all. 8 He was walking through the marketplace and came to the corner where a certain woman lived. He then turned up the road that goes by her house. 9 The day was ending. The sun had set, and it was almost dark. 10 Suddenly, there she was in front of him, dressed like a prostitute. She had plans for him. 11 She was a wild and rebellious woman who would not stay at home. 12 She walked the streets, always looking for someone to trap. 13 She grabbed the young man and kissed him. Without shame, she looked him in the eye and said, 14 “I offered a fellowship offering today. I gave what I promised to give, 15 and I still have plenty of food left. So I came out to find you, and here you are! 16 I have clean sheets on my bed—special ones from Egypt. 17 My bed smells wonderful with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let’s enjoy ourselves all night. We can make love until dawn. 19 My husband has gone on a business trip. 20 He took enough money for a long trip and won’t be home for two weeks.[a]”
21 This is what the woman said to tempt the young man, and her smooth words tricked him. 22 He followed her, like a bull being led to the slaughter. He was like a deer walking into a trap, 23 where a hunter waits to shoot an arrow through its heart. The boy was like a bird flying into a net, never seeing the danger he was in.
24 Now, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. 25 Don’t let your heart lead you to an evil woman like that. Don’t go where she wants to lead you. 26 She has brought down some of the most powerful men; she has left many dead bodies in her path. 27 Her house is the place of death. The road to it leads straight to the grave.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:20 won’t be … weeks Literally, “will not come home until the full moon.” The fellowship offering (see verse 14) was usually at the time of the new moon, the first day of the Hebrew month, which was two weeks before the full moon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International