Proverbs 7
1 My son, heed my advice, and guard my instructions [as you would] [MET] [guard] a treasure.
My son, accept what I say and value my instructions.
2 Obey my commands, and [as a result you will] live [a good life]. Consider the things that I teach you [to be very precious]; guard them, [just] like you protect your eyes.
Do what I tell you and you will live. Observe my teachings, valuing them as your main focus in life.
3 Tie my commands around your fingers [in order that they will remind you to obey them]. Always keep them in mind [MET].
Tie them to your fingers; write them in your mind.
4 [Love] wisdom [like you love] your sister. Understand what is wise, [and let that be as dear to you as] members of your family.
Tell wisdom, “You're my sister,” and call insight your best friend.
5 If you are wise and if you understand what is wise [PRS], you will not [sleep with] an immoral woman; you will not listen to a woman who tries to entice you [to sleep with her] by what she says.
They will protect you from the immoral woman, from the prostitute with her seductive words.
6 One day, I was standing at the window inside my house, and I looked outside.
One time I looked through the lattice of the window in my house,
7 I saw some young men who did not have good sense. Among them was a man who was very foolish.
and I saw among the immature young men one who had no sense at all.
8 He crossed the street near [the house of] an immoral woman. He was walking along the path toward her house
He was walking down the street near the corner where she lived and took the road passing her house.
9 at twilight, when it was getting dark [DOU].
It was at dusk in the evening, as the light was fading and the dark night closed in.
10 Suddenly the woman came out to see/meet him. She was dressed (seductively/like a prostitute), wanting to persuade him to sleep with her.
Then out came a woman came to meet him. She was dressed as a prostitute and had deceptive intentions.
11 She was a loud talker, one who was rebellious; she [SYN] never stayed at home.
(She was loud and provocative, never wanting to stay at home.
12 She often went into the city streets and plazas/markets, waiting to trap some man.
One moment she'd be walking the streets, the next she'd be there in the town squares, loitering at every corner.)
13 [When she saw that young man], she put her arms around him and kissed him. Then without being a bit ashamed, she said,
She grabbed hold of him and kissed him, and with a bold face she told him,
14 “I have [some meat that is left over from] a sacrifice that I made today [to maintain fellowship with Yahweh]; I have fulfilled/done what I promised him that I would do.
“I sacrificed my peace offering today, and paid my vows.
15 And now I have come out to meet/see you. I was searching for you, and [now] I have found you!
That's why I came out to meet you. I was looking for you and now I've found you!
16 I have put on my bed sheets/bedspreads that were made from [very fine] linen [that were imported] {[people brought]} from Egypt.
My bed is made, covered with colorful linens from Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled [sweet-smelling] perfumes on my bed— myrrh and aloes and cinnamon.
I've sprinkled perfume on my bed—myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come [with me]; let us enjoy having sex until [tomorrow] morning. Let’s enjoy making love.
Come with me, let's make love until the morning. Let's enjoy one another in our love-making!
19 My husband is not at home; he has gone away on a long journey.
My husband isn't home; he's gone on a long trip.
20 He is carrying a wallet filled with money, and he will not return until the middle of this month.”
He took a bag of money with him, and he won't be coming back until the full moon.”
21 [So] she persuaded him by [her] enticing/tempting words. She allured him by her smooth/sweet talk.
She convinced him with all that she said; she seduced him with her smooth talking.
22 [And] he went with her immediately, like an ox that was going to where it would be slaughtered, or like a deer (OR, a fool) that is stepping into a noose/trap,
He followed her right away, like an ox to the slaughter. Like a stag that's caught in a snare
23 where it will remain/stay until someone shoots an arrow into its liver [and kills it]. [He was] like a bird that flew into a trap. He did not know that (it would cost him his life/he would die as a result).
until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird flying into a trap, he's unaware he will pay with his life.
24 My son, listen to what I say; pay [careful] attention to my words.
So now listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to what I'm saying.
25 Do not allow anything to arouse/persuade you to go with an immoral woman like that. Do not go where she goes.
Don't even think about following her. Don't stray down her road.
26 She has caused many men to be ruined; truly, no one can count the men she has killed.
For she has brought down and destroyed a lot of men; she's killed so many.
