Proverbs 7
7
1My son,
pay attention to my words.
Treasure my commands that are within you.
2Obey my commands so that you may live.
Follow my teachings just as you protect the pupil of your eye.
3Tie them on your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister.”
Give the name “my relative” to understanding
5in order to guard yourself from an adulterous woman,
from a loose woman with her smooth talk.
6From a window in my house I looked through my screen.
7I was looking at gullible people
when I saw a young man without much sense among youths
8He was crossing a street near her corner
and walking toward her house
9in the twilight,
in the evening,
in the dark hours of the night.
10A woman with an ulterior motive meets him.
She is dressed as a prostitute.
11She is loud and rebellious.
Her feet will not stay at home.
12One moment she is out on the street,
the next she is at the curb,
on the prowl at every corner.
13She grabs him and kisses him and brazenly says to him,
14“I have some sacrificial meat.
Today I kept my vows.
15That’s why I came to meet you.
Eagerly, I looked for you,
and I’ve found you.
16I’ve made my bed,
with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
17I’ve sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy making love,
19because my husband’s not home.
He has gone on a long trip.
20He took lots of money with him.
He won’t be home for a couple of weeks.”
21With all her seductive charms, she persuades him.
With her smooth lips, she makes him give in.
22He immediately follows her
like a steer on its way to be slaughtered,
like a ram hobbling into captivity
23until an arrow pierces his heart,
like a bird darting into a trap.
He does not realize that it will cost him his life.
24Now, sons,
listen to me.
Pay attention to the words from my mouth.
25Do not let your heart be turned to her ways.
Do not wander onto her paths,
26because she has brought down many victims,
and she has killed all too many.
27Her home is the way to hell
and leads to the darkest vaults of death.
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Proverbs 7: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 7
7
1Remember what I say, my child, and never forget what I tell you to do. 2Do what I say, and you will live. Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes. 3Keep my teaching with you all the time; write it on your heart. 4Treat wisdom as your sister, and insight as your closest friend. 5They will keep you away from other men's wives, from women with seductive words.
The Immoral Woman
6Once I was looking out of the window of my house, 7and I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular. 8He was walking along the street near the corner where a certain woman lived. He was passing near her house 9in the evening after it was dark. 10And then she met him; she was dressed like a prostitute and was making plans. 11She was a bold and shameless woman who always walked the streets 12or stood waiting at a corner, sometimes in the streets, sometimes in the market place. 13She threw her arms round the young man, kissed him, looked him straight in the eye, and said, 14“I made my offerings today and have the meat from the sacrifices. 15So I came out looking for you. I wanted to find you, and here you are! 16I've covered my bed with sheets of coloured linen from Egypt. 17I've perfumed it with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come on! Let's make love all night long. We'll be happy in each other's arms. 19My husband isn't at home. He's gone away on a long journey. 20He took plenty of money with him and won't be back for two weeks.” 21So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk. 22Suddenly he was going with her like an ox on the way to be slaughtered, like a deer prancing into a trap#7.22 Probable text like a deer prancing into a trap; Hebrew unclear. 23where an arrow would pierce its heart. He was like a bird going into a net — he did not know that his life was in danger.
24Now then, my sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. 25Do not let such a woman win your heart; don't go wandering after her. 26She has been the ruin of many men and caused the death of too many to count. 27If you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. It is a short cut to death.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.