| << Prov 6 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Proverbs 7-9
Listen 
Stay away from that loose woman (Proverbs 7)
1 My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple 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 nearest kin,
5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the youths,
A young man devoid of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 She was loud and rebellious,
Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
And will come home on the appointed day.”
21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
And all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 Her house is the way to hell,
Descending to the chambers of death.
This chapter starts out with a strong admonition to keep the commandments of these words. Notice the poetic, yet intense way this admonition is made in verse 2, "Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye." The Hebrew word for "apple" here is a reference to the pupil of one's eye. That's how focused one is to be on the words being imparted here. Verse 3 emphasizes the same degree of focus when it says, "Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart." It appears that Solomon may have been alluding to Deuteronomy 6:8 (see notes) with that verse, "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." That verse, by the way, is part of the passage that forms what is called the Jewish "Shema." The Shema is an integral part of the observant Jew's life.
So what is this principle that Solomon is so adamant about passing on? Here it is: Stay away from the loose woman. We see in verse 19 that he is referring to a woman who prowls the streets while her husband is out of town. She entices men to commit adultery with her. Solomon even explains her system of enticement in this writing from having viewed her tactics from his window. Whoa! Solomon really had a good view of the street from his house!
It is interesting that her tactics are quite deceptive to the foolish man as "she caught him, and kissed him" in verse 13. But then in verse 14 she informs him that she has just come from the temple where she has made her peace offerings according to Leviticus 7:11-36 (see notes). And when you're returning from having made a peace offering, you are going to have some pretty nice cuts of meat with you. Hmmm...an evening of fine food and romance with a gal who's just made her peace offerings before God. One big problem though that the foolish young man is willing to overlook at this point - she's married and cheating on her husband!
Finally, in the strongest words Solomon could muster up, he warns of the consequences when one succumbs to her enticements in verse 26-27, "For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death."
Wisdom is personified (Proverbs 8)
1 Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O you simple ones, understand prudence,
And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
7 For my mouth will speak truth;
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold;
11 For wisdom is better than rubies,
And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me,
And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,
And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.
22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.
32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the LORD;
36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.”
This is an interesting chapter where wisdom takes on the personal attributes...well, really...of God. That's similar to Proverbs 1:24-33 (see notes) where wisdom was there, also, personified. As a matter of fact, as you read this chapter you may forget that God is not being described here, but rather personified wisdom. So, keep in mind here as you read, this is wisdom talking - not God. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for wisdom used in this chapter is "chokmah," a noun in the feminine gender. Great lessons are contained, but you must understand that the pronoun "I" used refers to a personified wisdom and is not a reference to God himself.
With all of that being said, let's look at a few oft-misunderstood verses in Proverbs 8:
A call to wise living (Proverbs 9:1-6)
1 Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has slaughtered her meat,
She has mixed her wine,
She has also furnished her table.
3 She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.
Here again wisdom is personified in the feminine gender. Wisdom is seen here as one calling men to follow her (wisdom) while forsaking foolishness.
How about that scorner! (Proverbs 9:7-12)
7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
Can you correct a scorner? Solomon seems to indicate that you shouldn't waste your time doing so. Why?
Here's what the Hebrew dictionary, Brown, Driver & Briggs says about this word, "scorner" (Hebrew: "letz")
The scorner is proud and haughty, delights in scorning, is incapable of discipline, reproof, or rebuke, cannot find wisdom; is an abomination, should be avoided; smitten and punished for the benefit of the simple and banished for the removal of contention; judgment is prepared for him; wine is a scorner.
An important New Testament principle is reinforced in these verses. A scorner is the equivalent of one who is without a relationship with God - a lost person. You do no service to one who is without Christ by correcting his actions of conduct. Those actions are just symptoms of being immune to the influence of God. The first step is to win that person to Christ as we see in verse 10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Only when a person has developed a father/son relationship with God does rebuke over lifestyle issues take hold.
How about foolishness (Proverbs 9:13-18)
13 A foolish woman is clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house,
On a seat by the highest places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by,
Who go straight on their way:
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”;
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.
Just as this chapter started out with a female personification of wisdom, these last 6 verses of the chapter do the same thing with foolishness. While it appears to be a reference to a woman who is foolish, the Hebrew structure used here is probably best understood to be foolishness personified as a woman - a pretty bold woman whose influence can wipe you out. To recap: Solomon personifies wisdom as a woman in verses 1-6 and does the same with foolishness in verses 13-18.