Proverbs 7

Chapter 7

Another Warning about Immoral Women

1 Follow my advice, my son;
always treasure my commands.2 Obey my commands and live!
Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.t3 Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.4 Love wisdom like a sister;
make insight a beloved member of your family.5 Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.6 While I was at the window of my house,
looking through the curtain,7 I saw some naive young men,
and one in particular who lacked common sense.8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
strolling down the path by her house.9 It was at twilight, in the evening,
as deep darkness fell.10 The woman approached him,
seductively dressed and sly of heart.11 She was the brash, rebellious type,
never content to stay at home.12 She is often in the streets and markets,
soliciting at every corner.13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
and with a brazen look she said,14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings
and fulfilled my vows.15 You’re the one I was looking for!
I came out to find you, and here you are!16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,
with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,19 for my husband is not home.
He’s away on a long trip.20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him
and won’t return until later this month.t”21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech
and enticed him with her flattery.22 He followed her at once,
like an ox going to the slaughter.
He was like a stag caught in a trap,23 awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart.
He was like a bird flying into a snare,
little knowing it would cost him his life.24 So listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to my words.25 Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.26 For she has been the ruin of many;
many men have been her victims.27 Her house is the road to the grave.t
Her bedroom is the den of death.

PROVERBS 7

The Foolishness //of Unfaithfulness

1 My son, pay close attention
and don't forget
what I tell you to do.

2 Obey me, and you will live!
Let my instructions be
your greatest treasure.

3 Keep them at your fingertips
and write them
in your mind.

4 Let wisdom be your sister
and make common sense
your closest friend.

5 They will protect you
from the flattering words
of someone else's wife.

6 From the window of my house,
I once happened to see

7 some foolish young men.

8 It was late in the evening,
sometime after dark.

9 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 punishedt

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.