Proverbs 7
The full text of Proverbs 7 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 My son, keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;
guard my teaching as the pupil of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,'
and call understanding your close friend—
5 that they may keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the stranger with her flattering words.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the naive,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who lacked sense.
8 He was crossing the street near her corner,
walking toward her house
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then a woman came to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute, with crafty intent.
11 She is loud and defiant;
her feet never stay at home.
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,
lurking at every corner.
13 She grabbed him and kissed him,
and with a brazen face she said:
14 "I had to offer fellowship sacrifices;
today I fulfilled my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and I have found you!
16 I have spread my bed with coverings,
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us drink deeply of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with caresses.
19 For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a distant journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him
and will not return until the full moon."
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
with her smooth talk she seduced him.
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer stepping into a noose,
23 till an arrow pierces his liver—
like a bird darting into a snare,
not knowing it will cost him his life.
24 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray into her paths.
26 For she has brought down many victims;
her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is the road to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Translation notes (7)
- Proverbs 7:2a Hebrew ishon, 'pupil', is a diminutive of ish, 'man', literally the 'little man' of the eye — so called from the tiny reflection of a person visible in the pupil. The same idiom describes what is most precious and most carefully protected in Deuteronomy 32:10 and Psalm 17:8, where the King James tradition rendered it 'apple of the eye'.
- Proverbs 7:3a The phrase luach libbekha (לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ), 'tablet of your heart', evokes the stone tablets of the covenant (Exodus 31:18), relocating the site of inscription from stone to the inner person, as in Jeremiah 31:33. The command to bind them on the fingers likewise recalls Deuteronomy 6:8, where the words of the law are bound as a sign upon the hand.
- Proverbs 7:14a Shelamim (שְׁלָמִים), 'fellowship sacrifices' or 'peace offerings', were shared meals in which the worshiper ate much of the meat, which by law had to be consumed within a day or two of the sacrifice (Leviticus 7:16). The woman's point is that fresh meat awaits at her house, making her invitation seem both pious and urgent.
- Proverbs 7:16a The word etun, 'linen', occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible and is likely a loanword reflecting Egyptian origin. Egypt was famed throughout the ancient Near East for its fine woven linen, so the imported bedding marks the adulteress's furnishings as costly luxury goods, part of her calculated allure.
- Proverbs 7:20a Hebrew tseror ha-kesef is literally 'a bundle of silver', a pouch of silver pieces tied up for travel; since weighed silver functioned as currency before coinage, 'money' conveys the sense. The rare word kese, 'full moon', appears elsewhere only in Psalm 81:3, marking the husband's absence as lasting weeks.
- Proverbs 7:22a The Hebrew of the final clause is obscure, literally 'as a fetter to the discipline of a fool'. The rendering 'deer' follows the Septuagint and Syriac, which presuppose ayyal, 'deer', in place of the Masoretic Text's ewil, 'fool'. The Septuagint further adds a comparison to a dog led to bonds, a clause with no counterpart in the Hebrew.
- Proverbs 7:23a Kaved (כָּבֵד), 'liver', denotes in Hebrew idiom not merely the organ but the seat of vital life itself, so a pierced liver signifies a fatal wound. The same word appears in Lamentations 2:11, where grief is said to pour out the liver. The image thus anticipates the closing line: the young man's dalliance costs him his life.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Proverbs, is free to read here on the web.
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