Proverbs 7:18-20

7:18 Come, let’s drink deeply ¹  of lovemaking ²  until morning,

let’s delight ourselves ³  with sexual intercourse. ⁴ 

7:19 For my husband ⁵  is not at home; ⁶ 

he has gone on a journey of some distance.

7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him; ⁷ 

he will not return until ⁸  the end of the month.” ⁹ 

Proverbs 30:20

30:20 This is the way ¹⁰  of an adulterous ¹¹  woman:

she eats and wipes her mouth ¹² 

and says, “I have not done wrong.” ¹³ 

Proverbs 30:2

30:2 Surely ¹⁴  I am more brutish ¹⁵  than any other human being, ¹⁶ 

and I do not have human understanding; ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 5:1

Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil ¹⁸ 

5:1 My child, ¹⁹  be attentive to my wisdom,

pay close attention ²⁰  to my understanding,

Ephesians 5:12

5:12 For the things they do ²¹  in secret are shameful even to mention.

[7:18]  ¹ tn The form נִרְוֶה (nirveh) is the plural cohortative; following the imperative “come” the form expresses the hortatory “let’s.” The verb means “to be saturated; to drink one’s fill,” and can at times mean “to be intoxicated with.”

[7:18]  ² tn Heb “loves.” The word דּוֹד (dod) means physical love or lovemaking. It is found frequently in the Song of Solomon for the loved one, the beloved. Here the form (literally, “loves”) is used in reference to multiple acts of sexual intercourse, as the phrase “until morning” suggests.

[7:18]  ³ tn The form is the Hitpael cohortative of עָלַס (’alas), which means “to rejoice.” Cf. NIV “let’s enjoy ourselves.”

[7:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “with love.”

[7:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “the man.” The LXX interpreted it as “my husband,” taking the article to be used as a possessive. Many English versions do the same.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his house.”

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “in his hand.”

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will come back at.”

[7:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “new moon.” Judging from the fact that the husband took a purse of money and was staying away until the next full moon, the woman implies that they would be safe in their escapade. If v. 9 and v. 20 are any clue, he could be gone for about two weeks – until the moon is full again.

[30:20]  ¹⁰ sn Equally amazing is the insensitivity of the adulterous woman to the sin. The use of the word “way” clearly connects this and the preceding material. Its presence here also supports the interpretation of the final clause in v. 19 as referring to sexual intimacy. While that is a wonder of God’s creation, so is the way that human nature has distorted it and ruined it.

[30:20]  ¹¹ sn The word clearly indicates that the woman is married and unchaste; but the text describes her as amoral as much as immoral – she sees nothing wrong with what she does.

[30:20]  ¹² sn The acts of “eating” and “wiping her mouth” are euphemistic; they employ an implied comparison between the physical act of eating and wiping one’s mouth afterward on the one hand with sexual activity on the other hand (e.g., Prov 9:17).

[30:20]  ¹³ sn This is the amazing part of the observation. It is one thing to sin, for everyone sins, but to dismiss the act of adultery so easily, as if it were no more significant than a meal, is incredibly brazen.

[30:2]  ¹⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).

[30:2]  ¹⁵ tn The noun בַּעַר (ba’ar) means “brutishness”; here it functions as a predicate adjective. It is followed by מֵאִישׁ (me’ish) expressing comparative degree: “more than a man” or “more than any man,” with “man” used in a generic sense. He is saying that he has fallen beneath the level of mankind. Cf. NRSV “I am too stupid to be human.”

[30:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “than man.” The verse is using hyperbole; this individual feels as if he has no intelligence at all, that he is more brutish than any other human. Of course this is not true, or he would not be able to speculate on the God of the universe at all.

[30:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the understanding of a man,” with “man” used attributively here.

[5:1]  ¹⁸ sn In this chapter the sage/father exhorts discretion (1, 2) then explains how to avoid seduction (3-6); this is followed by a second exhortation to prevention (7, 8) and an explanation that obedience will avoid ruin and regret (9-14); finally, he warns against sharing love with strangers (15-17) but to find it at home (18-23). For an analysis of the chapter, see J. E. Goldingay, “Proverbs V and IX,” RB 84 (1977): 80-93.

[5:1]  ¹⁹ tn The text again has “my son.” In this passage perhaps “son” would be the most fitting because of the warning against going to the adulterous woman. However, since the image of the adulterous woman probably represents all kinds of folly (through personification), and since even in this particular folly the temptation works both ways, the general address to either young men or women should be retained. The text was certainly not intended to convey that only women could seduce men.

[5:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “incline your ear” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “listen carefully.”

[5:12]  ²¹ tn The participle τὰ…γινόμενα (ta…ginomena) usually refers to “things happening” or “things which are,” but with the following genitive phrase ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν (Jup’ autwn), which indicates agency, the idea seems to be “things being done.” This passive construction was translated as an active one to simplify the English style.