Proverbs 7:20-27

7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him; ¹ 

he will not return until ²  the end of the month.” ³ 

7:21 She persuaded him ⁴  with persuasive words; ⁵ 

with her smooth talk ⁶  she compelled him. ⁷ 

7:22 Suddenly he went ⁸  after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare ⁹ 

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ¹⁰  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ¹¹ 

7:24 So now, sons, ¹²  listen to me,

and pay attention to the words I speak. ¹³ 

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 ¹⁴  many fatally wounded,

and all those she has slain are many. ¹⁵ 

7:27 Her house is the way to the grave, ¹⁶ 

going down ¹⁷  to the chambers ¹⁸  of death.

[7:20]  ¹ tn Heb “in his hand.”

[7:20]  ² tn Heb “he will come back at.”

[7:20]  ³ 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.

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “she turned him aside.” This expression means that she persuaded him. This section now begins the description of the capitulation, for the flattering speech is finished.

[7:21]  ⁵ sn The term לֶקַח (leqakh) was used earlier in Proverbs for wise instruction; now it is used ironically for enticement to sin (see D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 280-92).

[7:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “smooth of her lips”; cf. NAB “smooth lips”; NASB “flattering lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause representing what she says.

[7:21]  ⁷ tn The verb means “to impel; to thrust; to banish,” but in this stem in this context “to compel; to force” into some action. The imperfect tense has the nuance of progressive imperfect to parallel the characteristic perfect of the first colon.

[7:22]  ⁸ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

[7:22]  ⁹ 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.”

[7:23]  ¹⁰ 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).

[7:23]  ¹¹ 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.

[7:24]  ¹² tn The literal translation “sons” works well here in view of the warning. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “children.”

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “the words of my mouth.”

[7:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “she has caused to fall.”

[7:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”

[7:27]  ¹⁶ 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.

[7:27]  ¹⁷ tn The Qal active participle modifies “ways” to Sheol. The “road,” as it were, descends to the place of death.

[7:27]  ¹⁸ 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.”