7:7 and I saw among the naive –
I discerned among the youths 1 –
a young man 2 who lacked wisdom. 3
7:22 Suddenly he went 4 after her
like an ox that goes to the slaughter,
like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare 5
7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver 6 –
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life. 7
1 tn Heb “sons.”
2 tn Heb “lad” or “youth.”
3 tn Heb “heart.”
4 tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”
5 tn The present translation follows R. B. Y. Scott (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 64). This third colon of the verse would usually be rendered, “fetters to the chastening of a fool” (KJV, ASV, and NASB are all similar). But there is no support that עֶכֶס (’ekhes) means “fetters.” It appears in Isaiah 3:16 as “anklets.” The parallelism here suggests that some animal imagery is required. Thus the ancient versions have “as a dog to the bonds.”
6 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).
7 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.