7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver 1 –
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life. 2
7:24 So now, sons, 3 listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak. 4
7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways –
do not wander into her pathways;
7:26 for she has brought down 5 many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many. 6
7:27 Her house is the way to the grave, 7
going down 8 to the chambers 9 of death.
1 sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).
2 tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.
3 tn The literal translation “sons” works well here in view of the warning. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “children.”
4 tn Heb “the words of my mouth.”
5 tn Heb “she has caused to fall.”
6 tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”
7 tn The noun “Sheol” in parallelism to “the chambers of death” probably means the grave. The noun is a genitive of location, indicating the goal of the road(s). Her house is not the grave; it is, however, the sure way to it.
8 tn The Qal active participle modifies “ways” to Sheol. The “road,” as it were, descends to the place of death.
9 tn “Chambers” is a hypocatastasis, comparing the place of death or the grave with a bedroom in the house. It plays on the subtlety of the temptation. Cf. NLT “Her bedroom is the den of death.”