Logos Bible Study

Proverbs 7:6–13

The NET BibleOther versions

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7:6For at the window of my house

through my window lattice I looked out

7:7and I saw among the naive—

I discerned among the youths15—

a young man16 who lacked wisdom.17

7:8He was passing by the street near her corner,

making his way18 along the road to her house19

7:9in the twilight, the evening,20

in the dark of the night.21

7:10Suddenly22 a woman came out to meet him!

She was dressed like a prostitute23 and with secret intent.24

7:11(She is loud and rebellious,

she25 does not remain26 at home—

7:12at one time outside, at another27 in the wide plazas,

and by every corner she lies in wait.)

7:13So she grabbed him and kissed him,

and with a bold expression28 she said to him,

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Footnotes

  1. 15 Heb “sons.”
  2. 16 Heb “lad” or “youth.”
  3. 17 Heb “heart.” This young man who lacked wisdom is one of the simpletons, lacking keen judgment, one void of common sense (cf. , , , ) or understanding (cf. , ). He is young, inexperienced, featherbrained (so D. Kidner, Proverbs [], ).
  4. 18 The verb צָעַד (tsa’ad) means “to step; to march.” It suggests that the youth was intentionally making his way to her house. The verb is the imperfect tense; it stresses continual action parallel to the active participle that began the verse, but within a context that is past time.
  5. 19 Heb “way of her house.” This expression uses an adverbial accusative of location, telling where he was marching along. The term “house” is the genitive of location, giving the goal.
  6. 20 Heb “in the evening of the day.”
  7. 21 Heb “in the middle of the night, and dark”; “in the black and dark night”; “at the time of night and darkness.”
  8. 22 The particle וְהִנֵּה (véhinneh) introduces a dramatic sense of the immediate to the narrative; it has a deictic force, “and look!—there was a woman,” or “all of a sudden this woman.…”
  9. 23 Heb “with the garment of a prostitute.” The noun שִׁית (shith, “garment”) is an adverbial accusative specifying the appearance of the woman. The words “she was” are supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
  10. 24 Heb “kept secret of heart”; cf. , “wily of heart.” The verbal form is the passive participle from נָצַר (natsar) in construct. C. H. Toy lists the suggestions of the commentators: false, malicious, secret, subtle, excited, hypocritical (Proverbs [], ). The has “causes the hearts of the young men to fly away.” The verb means “to guard; to watch; to keep”; to be guarded of heart means to be wily, to have secret intent—she has locked up her plans and gives nothing away (e.g., Isaiah 48:6 as well). Interestingly enough, this contrasts with her attire which gives everything away.
  11. 25 Heb “her feet.” This is a synecdoche, a part for the whole; the point is that she never stays home, but is out and about all the time.
  12. 26 Heb “dwell” or “settle”; “her feet cannot rest.”
  13. 27 The repetition of the noun “time, step,” usually translated “now, this time,” signifies here “at one time … at another time” ( 822 פַּעַם 3.e).
  14. 28 Heb “she makes bold her face.” The Hiphil perfect of עָזַז (’azar, “to be strong”) means she has an impudent face (cf. , , ), a bold or brazen expression (cf. , , ).

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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,

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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:

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

At the window of my house

I looked through my lattice.

I saw among the inexperienced,

I noticed among the youths,

a young man lacking sense.

Crossing the street near her corner,

he strolled down the road to her house

at twilight, in the evening,

in the dark of the night.

A woman came to meet him

dressed like a prostitute,

having a hidden agenda.

She is loud and defiant;

her feet do not stay at home.

Now in the street, now in the squares,

she lurks at every corner.

She grabs him and kisses him;

she brazenly says to him,

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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,

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

For at the window of my house,

through my lattice, I looked down.

And I saw among the simple,

I observed among the youth,

a young man lacking sense,

passing on the street at her corner,

and he takes the road to her house,

at twilight, at the day’s evening,

in the midst of night and the darkness.

Then behold! A woman comes to meet him

with the garment of a prostitute and a secret heart.

She is loud and stubborn;

her feet do not stay at her house.

Now in the street, now in the square,

at every corner she lies in wait.

She took hold of him and kissed him.

Her face was impudent, and she said to him,

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

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,

Public Domain