Proverbs 7
A father advises his son to guard his words and keep his commandments to live, and to consider wisdom as a sister and prudence as a friend to protect him from the outsider woman. The father then describes a scene where a young man is seduced by a harlot who uses flattery and deceit to lure him into her house, promising him pleasure and secrecy. The young man is unaware of the danger he is in, and the father warns his son not to be deceived by her ways, as many have been wounded and slain by her. Her household is a path to death and destruction.
1My son, guard my words and conceal my precepts within you2Son, preserve my commandments, and you shall live. And keep my law as the pupil of your eye3Bind it with your fingers; write it on the tablets of your heart4Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call prudence your friend5So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words6For I gaze from the window of my house, through the lattice7and I see little ones. I consider a frenzied youth8who crosses the street at the corner and close to the way of that house.9He steps into shadows, as day becomes evening, into the darkness and gloom of the night10And behold, a woman meets him, dressed like a harlot, prepared to captivate souls: chattering and rambling11unwilling to bear silence, unable to keep her feet at home12now outside, now in the streets, now lying in ambush near the corners13And overtaking the youth, she kisses him, and with a provocative face, she flatters him, saying14"I vowed sacrifices for well-being. Today I have repaid my vows15Because of this, I have gone out to meet you, desiring to see you, and I have found you16I have woven my bed with cords. I have strewn it with embroidered tapestries from Egypt17I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon18Come, let us be inebriated in abundance, and let us delight in the embraces of desire, until the day begins to dawn19For my husband is not in his house. He has gone away on a very long journey20He took with him a bag of money. He will return to his house on the day of the full moon.21She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips22Immediately, he follows her, like an ox being led to the sacrifice, and like a lamb acting lasciviously, and not knowing that he is being drawn foolishly into chains23until the arrow pierces his liver. It is just as if a bird were to hurry into the snare. And he does not know that his actions endanger his own soul24Therefore, my son, hear me now, and attend to the words of my mouth25Do not let your mind be pulled into her ways. And do not be deceived by her paths26For she has tossed aside many wounded, and some of those who were very strong have been slain by her27Her household is the way to Hell, reaching even to the inner places of death
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