Proverbs 7:1-27·~1 min

Warnings about the Adulteress

The son is told to keep his father's words, guard the commandments as life, and bind them closely to himself, calling wisdom his sister and understanding his intimate friend. Such closeness to wisdom is presented as the means by which he is kept from the adulteress and her flattering speech.

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,

From his window the father observes a naive young man among the simple, passing near the adulteress's corner at twilight as darkness falls. The scene emphasizes that temptation is often entered through unwise proximity and the cover of moral dimness.

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

A boldly dressed and restless woman meets him, seizes him, and brazenly speaks as though this encounter were special, prepared, and safe. She mixes religious language, luxurious imagery, sensual invitation, and the assurance that her husband is away in order to make forbidden pleasure seem both desirable and secure.

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

With persistent persuasion and smooth speech she leads him on, and he follows without grasping the mortal cost. He is compared to an ox going to slaughter, a deer pierced by an arrow, and a bird rushing into a snare.

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

The father turns from story back to direct warning, telling his sons not to let their hearts turn toward her ways or stray into her paths. Her victims are many, even the strong, because her house is the road to Sheol and the chambers of death.

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,

Section summaryThe 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.

Role in the chapterThis section functions as both exhortation and object lesson. Its work is to show how wise instruction must be internalized before temptation arrives, because once the heart drifts toward danger, seductive circumstance and practiced deception can quickly carry the unguarded toward ruin.