Proverbs 7:1-13
Proverbs 7:1-20 The Message (MSG)
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. 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. 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.”
Proverbs 7:1-13 King James Version (KJV)
My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, Write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the stranger which flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; Her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, And lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, And with an impudent face said unto him
Proverbs 7:1-13 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend; That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words. For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense, Passing through the street near her corner; And he takes the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and in the darkness. And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart. She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; She is now in the streets, now in the squares, And lurks by every corner. So she seizes him and kisses him And with a brazen face she says to him
Proverbs 7:1-13 New Century Version (NCV)
My son, remember what I say, and treasure my commands. Obey my commands, and you will live. Guard my teachings as you would your own eyes. Remind yourself of them; write them on your heart as if on a tablet. Treat wisdom as a sister, and make understanding your closest friend. Wisdom and understanding will keep you away from adultery, away from the unfaithful wife and her pleasing words. Once while I was at the window of my house I looked out through the shutters and saw some foolish, young men. I noticed one of them had no wisdom. He was walking down the street near the corner on the road leading to her house. It was the twilight of the evening; the darkness of the night was just beginning. Then the woman approached him, dressed like a prostitute and planning to trick him. She was loud and stubborn and never stayed at home. She was always out in the streets or in the city squares, waiting around on the corners of the streets. She grabbed him and kissed him. Without shame she said to him
Proverbs 7:1-13 American Standard Version (ASV)
My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice; And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness. And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart. (She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house: Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, And with an impudent face she said unto him
Proverbs 7:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words. At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said
Proverbs 7:1-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin, That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding, Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him
Proverbs 7:1-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you]. Keep my commandments and live, And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye. Bind them [securely] on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, “You are my sister,” And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends; That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the foreigner [who does not observe God’s laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words. ¶For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice. And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible], I saw among the youths A young man lacking [good] sense, Passing through the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house In the twilight, in the evening; In the black and dark night. And there a woman met him, Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart. She was boisterous and rebellious; She would not stay at home. At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places, Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him And with a brazen and impudent face she said to him
Proverbs 7:1-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman. While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house. It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home. She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said
Proverbs 7:1-13 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Stick close to my instruction, my son, and follow all my advice. If you do what I say you will live well. Guard your life with my revelation-truth, for my teaching is as precious as your eyesight. Treasure my instructions, and cherish them within your heart. Say to wisdom, “I love you,” and to understanding, “You’re my sweetheart.” “May the two of you protect me, and may we never be apart!” For they will keep you from the adulteress, with her smooth words meant to seduce your heart. Looking out the window of my house one day I noticed among the mindless crowd a simple, naïve young man who was about to go astray. There he was, walking down the street. Then he turned the corner, going on his way hurrying to the house of the harlot— the woman he had planned to meet. There he was in the twilight as darkness fell, convinced no one was watching as he entered the black shadows of hell. That’s when their rendezvous began. A woman of the night appeared, dressed to kill the strength of any man. She was decked out as a harlot, pursuing her amorous plan. Her voice was seductive, rebellious, and boisterous as she wandered far from what’s right. Her type can be found soliciting on street corners on just about any night. She wrapped her arms around the senseless young man and held him tight— she enticed him with kisses that seemed so right. Then, with insolence, she whispered in his ear
Proverbs 7:1-13 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend, to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words. For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him