משלי 7
The Westminster Leningrad Codex
7 בְּ֭נִי שְׁמֹ֣ר אֲמָרָ֑י וּ֝מִצְוֺתַ֗י תִּצְפֹּ֥ן אִתָּֽךְ׃
2 שְׁמֹ֣ר מִצְוֺתַ֣י וֶחְיֵ֑ה וְ֝תוֹרָתִ֗י כְּאִישׁ֥וֹן עֵינֶֽיךָ׃
3 קָשְׁרֵ֥ם עַל־אֶצְבְּעֹתֶ֑יךָ כָּ֝תְבֵ֗ם עַל־ל֥וּחַ לִבֶּֽךָ׃
4 אֱמֹ֣ר לַֽ֭חָכְמָה אֲחֹ֣תִי אָ֑תְּ וּ֝מֹדָ֗ע לַבִּינָ֥ה תִקְרָֽא׃
5 לִ֭שְׁמָרְךָ מֵאִשָּׁ֣ה זָרָ֑ה מִ֝נָּכְרִיָּ֗ה אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ הֶחֱלִֽיקָה׃
6 כִּ֭י בְּחַלּ֣וֹן בֵּיתִ֑י בְּעַ֖ד אֶשְׁנַבִּ֣י נִשְׁקָֽפְתִּי׃
7 וָאֵ֤רֶא בַפְּתָאיִ֗ם אָ֘בִ֤ינָה בַבָּנִ֗ים נַ֣עַר חֲסַר־לֵֽב׃
8 עֹבֵ֣ר בַּ֭שּׁוּק אֵ֣צֶל פִּנָּ֑הּ וְדֶ֖רֶךְ בֵּיתָ֣הּ יִצְעָֽד׃
9 בְּנֶֽשֶׁף־בְּעֶ֥רֶב י֑וֹם בְּאִישׁ֥וֹן לַ֝֗יְלָה וַאֲפֵלָֽה׃
10 וְהִנֵּ֣ה אִ֭שָּׁה לִקְרָאת֑וֹ שִׁ֥ית ז֝וֹנָ֗ה וּנְצֻ֥רַת לֵֽב׃
11 הֹמִיָּ֣ה הִ֣יא וְסֹרָ֑רֶת בְּ֝בֵיתָ֗הּ לֹא־יִשְׁכְּנ֥וּ רַגְלֶֽיהָ׃
12 פַּ֤עַם׀ בַּח֗וּץ פַּ֥עַם בָּרְחֹב֑וֹת וְאֵ֖צֶל כָּל־פִּנָּ֣ה תֶאֱרֹֽב׃
13 וְהֶחֱזִ֣יקָה בּ֖וֹ וְנָ֣שְׁקָה־לּ֑וֹ הֵעֵ֥זָה פָ֝נֶ֗יהָ וַתֹּ֣אמַר לֽוֹ׃
14 זִבְחֵ֣י שְׁלָמִ֣ים עָלָ֑י הַ֝יּ֗וֹם שִׁלַּ֥מְתִּי נְדָרָֽי׃
15 עַל֭־כֵּן יָצָ֣אתִי לִקְרָאתֶ֑ךָ לְשַׁחֵ֥ר פָּ֝נֶ֗יךָ וָאֶמְצָאֶֽךָּ׃
16 מַ֭רְבַדִּים רָבַ֣דְתִּי עַרְשִׂ֑י חֲ֝טֻב֗וֹת אֵט֥וּן מִצְרָֽיִם׃
17 נַ֥פְתִּי מִשְׁכָּבִ֑י מֹ֥ר אֲ֝הָלִ֗ים וְקִנָּמֽוֹן׃
18 לְכָ֤ה נִרְוֶ֣ה דֹ֭דִים עַד־הַבֹּ֑קֶר נִ֝תְעַלְּסָ֗ה בָּאֳהָבִֽים׃
19 כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין הָאִ֣ישׁ בְּבֵית֑וֹ הָ֝לַ֗ךְ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ מֵרָחֽוֹק׃
20 צְֽרוֹר־הַ֭כֶּסֶף לָקַ֣ח בְּיָד֑וֹ לְי֥וֹם הַ֝כֵּ֗סֶא יָבֹ֥א בֵיתֽוֹ׃
21 הִ֭טַּתּוּ בְּרֹ֣ב לִקְחָ֑הּ בְּחֵ֥לֶק שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗יהָ תַּדִּיחֶֽנּוּ׃
22 ה֤וֹלֵ֥ךְ אַחֲרֶ֗יהָ פִּ֫תְאֹ֥ם כְּ֭שׁוֹר אֶל־טָ֣בַח יָב֑וֹא וּ֝כְעֶ֗כֶס אֶל־מוּסַ֥ר אֱוִֽיל׃
23 עַ֤ד יְפַלַּ֪ח חֵ֡ץ כְּֽבֵד֗וֹ כְּמַהֵ֣ר צִפּ֣וֹר אֶל־פָּ֑ח וְלֹֽא־יָ֝דַ֗ע כִּֽי־בְנַפְשׁ֥וֹ הֽוּא׃ פ
24 וְעַתָּ֣ה בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִ֑י וְ֝הַקְשִׁ֗יבוּ לְאִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃
25 אַל־יֵ֣שְׂטְ אֶל־דְּרָכֶ֣יהָ לִבֶּ֑ךָ אַל־תֵּ֝תַע בִּנְתִיבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃
26 כִּֽי־רַבִּ֣ים חֲלָלִ֣ים הִפִּ֑ילָה וַ֝עֲצֻמִ֗ים כָּל־הֲרֻגֶֽיהָ׃
27 דַּרְכֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל בֵּיתָ֑הּ יֹ֝רְד֗וֹת אֶל־חַדְרֵי־מָֽוֶת׃ פ
Proverbs 7
Good News Translation
7 My child, remember what I say and never forget what I tell you to do. 2 Do what I say, and you will live. Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes. 3 Keep my teaching with you all the time; write it on your heart. 4 Treat wisdom as your sister, and insight as your closest friend. 5 They will keep you away from other men's wives, from women with seductive words.
The Immoral Woman
6 Once I was looking out the window of my house, 7 and I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular. 8 He was walking along the street near the corner where a certain woman lived. He was passing near her house 9 in the evening after it was dark. 10 And then she met him; she was dressed like a prostitute and was making plans. 11 She was a bold and shameless woman who always walked the streets 12 or stood waiting at a corner, sometimes in the streets, sometimes in the marketplace. 13 She threw her arms around the young man, kissed him, looked him straight in the eye, and said, 14 “I made my offerings today and have the meat from the sacrifices. 15 So I came out looking for you. I wanted to find you, and here you are! 16 I've covered my bed with sheets of colored linen from Egypt. 17 I've perfumed it with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come on! Let's make love all night long. We'll be happy in each other's arms. 19 My husband isn't at home. He's on a long trip. 20 He took plenty of money with him and won't be back for two weeks.” 21 So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk. 22 Suddenly he was going with her like an ox on the way to be slaughtered, like a deer prancing into a trap[a] 23 where an arrow would pierce its heart. He was like a bird going into a net—he did not know that his life was in danger.
24 Now then, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. 25 Do not let such a woman win your heart; don't go wandering after her. 26 She has been the ruin of many men and caused the death of too many to count. 27 If you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. It is a shortcut to death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:22 Probable text like a deer prancing into a trap; Hebrew unclear.
Proverbs 7
The Message
Dressed to Seduce
7 1-5 Dear friend, do what I tell you;
treasure my careful instructions.
Do what I say and you’ll live well.
My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!
Write it out on the back of your hands;
etch it on the chambers of your heart.
Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.
Treat Insight as your companion.
They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress—
that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.
6-12 As I stood at the window of my house
looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
Brazen and brash she was,
restless and roaming, never at home,
Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,
hanging out at every corner in town.
13-20 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
boldly took his arm and said,
“I’ve got all the makings for a feast—
today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
So now I’ve come to find you,
hoping to catch sight of your face—and here you are!
I’ve spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed,
colorful imported linens.
My bed is aromatic with spices
and exotic fragrances.
Come, let’s make love all night,
spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
My husband’s not home; he’s away on business,
and he won’t be back for a month.”
21-23 Soon she has him eating out of her hand,
bewitched by her honeyed speech.
Before you know it, he’s trotting behind her,
like a calf led to the butcher shop,
Like a stag lured into ambush
and then shot with an arrow,
Like a bird flying into a net
not knowing that its flying life is over.
24-27 So, friends, listen to me,
take these words of mine most seriously.
Don’t fool around with a woman like that;
don’t even stroll through her neighborhood.
Countless victims come under her spell;
she’s the death of many a poor man.
She runs a halfway house to hell,
fits you out with a shroud and a coffin.
Proverbs 7
The Voice
7 My son, live according to what I am telling you;
guard my instructions as you would a treasure deep within you.
2 Stay true to my directives, and they will serve you well;
make my teachings the lens through which you see life.
3 Bind cords around your fingers to remind you of them;
meditate on them, and you’ll engrave them upon your heart.
4 Say to Lady Wisdom, “My sister”;
recognize that understanding is your best friend,
5 And they will keep you from the arms of another woman—
protect you from the enchantress who entices men into her bed.
People are forgetful, so we must be reminded constantly of Wisdom and her ways. We don’t always need to hear something new; often we just need to be reminded of what is true. In these proverbs wisdom is found when one not only knows what is right, but acts on that knowledge. Foolishness, on the other hand, means a lack of understanding and wrongdoing.
6 One day I was at the window of my house,
looking out through my lattice shutters,
7 And there among the usual crowd of the gullible people
I spotted a naive young man.
8 He was going down the street near the corner where she lived—that mysterious and evil woman—
taking the road that led directly to her house.
9 At the end of the day, as night approached
and darkness crept in,
10 I saw her! A woman came out to meet him.
She was dressed for temptation and devious with her affections.
11 Here’s what I know about her: she is loud and obnoxious, a rebel against what is proper and decent.
She’s always on the move—anxious to get out of the house and
12 Down the street; at times in the open,
at others lurking around every corner.
13 As I am watching them, she grabs him and kisses him,
then shamelessly tells him:
14 The Immoral Woman: It was my turn to offer a peace offering,
and today I paid my vows,
15 So now I come to see you.
I really want to be with you, and what luck! I have found you!
16 You’ll be impressed. I have decorated my couch,
laid colorful Egyptian linens over where we will be together,
17 And perfumed the bed with exotic oils and herbs:
myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come in, and we will feast on love until sunrise;
we will delight ourselves in our affections.
19 You don’t need to worry; my husband is long gone by now,
away from home on a distant journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him,
so I don’t expect him home until next month.
21 It worked! She enticed him with seductive words,
seduced him with her smooth talk.
22 Right away he followed her home.
He followed her like a bull being led to the slaughter,
Like a fool[a] caught in a trap
23 (that is, until an arrow punctures his liver),
Like a bird flying straight into a net.
He had no clue his life was at stake; everything was about to change.
24 This is why it is so important that you listen to me, my sons,
and pay attention to all I am telling you.
25 Do not let your mind wonder about her ways;
do not lose yourself and drift down her path,
26 For she’s claimed one life after another,
victim after victim, too many to count.
27 Her house is the gateway to the grave;
every step toward her is a step toward death’s dark chamber.
Footnotes
- 7:22 Some manuscripts read “deer.”
2005 by Public Domain
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.