Chapter 7
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
“Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.”
Overview
Solomon narrates a vivid scene he witnessed from his window: a young man devoid of understanding wandering near the corner of the seductress at twilight. The woman, dressed as a harlot and subtle of heart, flatters him with smooth words and leads him to her bed. The young man follows her as an ox to the slaughter, unaware that it will cost him his life. The chapter closes with a warning to keep the heart far from her ways.
Key Themes
The Anatomy of Temptation
Solomon reveals how temptation unfolds step by step — proximity, curiosity, flattery, rationalization — until the victim is ensnared before he realizes the danger.
The Seductress as the Antithesis of Wisdom
The strange woman is loud, stubborn, and her feet abide not in her house — she is the mirror opposite of wisdom and leads to death rather than life.
The Cost of Folly
The young man's momentary pleasure leads to slaughter — her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
Study Questions
Why does Solomon describe the young man as 'void of understanding' (v. 7)? What does this suggest about the relationship between wisdom and moral protection?
What role does proximity play in the young man's downfall (vv. 8-9), and what principle does this teach about avoiding temptation?
How does the seductress use religious language (vv. 14-15) to make sin appear respectable? How do we see this pattern today?
Why does Solomon compare the young man to 'an ox goeth to the slaughter' (v. 22)? What does this say about how sin blinds us to danger?
What is the warning of verse 26 — 'she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her' — and why should even the strong be wary?
Connection to Christ
Christ is the one who delivers from the path of the seductress. Where the young man in this chapter walked blindly toward death, Jesus calls His followers to walk in the light. He is the way, the truth, and the life — the antidote to every deceptive path that leads to the chambers of death.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Proverbs 7. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?