Proverbs 7:22-27

7:22 Suddenly he went ¹  after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare ² 

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ³  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ⁴ 

7:24 So now, sons, ⁵  listen to me,

and pay attention to the words I speak. ⁶ 

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 ⁷  many fatally wounded,

and all those she has slain are many. ⁸ 

7:27 Her house is the way to the grave, ⁹ 

going down ¹⁰  to the chambers ¹¹  of death.

[7:22]  ¹ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

[7:22]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The literal translation “sons” works well here in view of the warning. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “children.”

[7:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “the words of my mouth.”

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

[7:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”

[7:27]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The Qal active participle modifies “ways” to Sheol. The “road,” as it were, descends to the place of death.

[7:27]  ¹¹ 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.”