Proverbs

Chapter 7

Warnings about the Adulteress

Proverbs 7 urges the son to treasure wisdom as intimate protection against adultery, then dramatizes that warning through the story of a naive young man who drifts toward temptation and is swept up by a seductive, calculating woman. The chapter ends by exposing her house as a road to death, where many strong men have already fallen.

As the seventh chapter of Proverbs, this passage intensifies the book's warnings about sexual folly by turning instruction into a vivid case study. It shows that adultery is not merely a private lapse but a path entered through carelessness, flattery, and appetite, and ending under the shadow of Sheol.

1 section·183 words·~1 min read

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Proverbs 7

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vv. 1-27

Warnings about the Adulteress

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M¹y son, keep my words ²Keep my commandments and live; ³Tie them to your fingers; ⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” ⁵that they may keep you from the adulteress,

⁶For at the window of my house ⁷I saw among the simple, ⁸crossing the street near her corner, ⁹at twilight, as the day was fading

¹⁰Then a woman came out to meet him, ¹¹She is loud and defiant; ¹²Now in the street, now in the squares, ¹³She seizes him and kisses him; ¹⁴“I have made my peace offerings; ¹⁵So I came out to meet you; ¹⁶I have decked my bed with coverings, ¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, ¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. ¹⁹For my husband is not at home; ²⁰He took with him a bag of money

²¹With her great persuasion she entices him; ²²He follows her on impulse, ²³until an arrow pierces his liver,

²⁴Now, my sons, listen to me, ²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; ²⁶For she has brought many down to death; ²⁷Her house is the road to Sheol,

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01vv. 1-27Warnings about the AdulteressThe father first tells his son to bind wisdom closely to heart and hand so that it may guard him from the adulteress, then narrates how a simple youth wanders near her corner and is captured by her bold approach, persuasive speech, and promises of secret pleasure. The account concludes with a direct warning that her victims are many and that her house descends to the chambers of death.