Proverbs 7:21
in Proverbs 7With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
KJV
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
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This verse in Proverbs 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWith a provocative movement of a prostitute, with a disrupted gait through delights, with wandering eyes, and with playful darting of her eyelids, she captures the precious souls of young men (for the eye of a prostitute is a snare of a sinner), and with doubtful perception, she accosts anyone passing by in the corner of her house, with charming words, causing the hearts of young men to flutter, restless at home, wandering in the streets, prodigal with kisses, cheap in modesty, rich in attire, painted cheeks.
This site's exposition
With her great persuasion she entices him
on Proverbs 7:21-23
“He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter,” an animal walking toward its death with no power to read the sign. The line “until an arrow pierces his liver” names a wound, and the liver was held to be the seat of the passions.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Wisdom's maidens, who plead her cause, and have reason on their side, and true and divine pleasures to invite men to, have a deaf ear turned to them, and with all their rhetoric cannot compel men to come in, but such is the dominion of sin in the hearts of men that its allurements soon prevail by falsehood and flattery.
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,.... Or, "to decline" from the right way: or, "inclined him" (d); his ear to listen to her, and his heart to go after her and along with her. This she did, by using a great many words, by her prolixity, and by some taking and striking expressions; lewd women are generally very talkative (e).
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Fair speech - The Hebrew word is usually translated “doctrine,” or “learning” Pro 1:5; Pro 4:2; Pro 9:9; possibly it is used here in keen irony.
With her much fair speech - With her blandishments and lascivious talk, she overcame all his scruples, and constrained him to yield.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִ֭טַּתּוּ | hitatu | she turns him | H5186 → | 214 times |
| בְּרֹ֣ב | bero | with [the] greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| לִקְחָ֑הּ | likchah | persuasiveness her | H3948 → | 9 times |
| בְּחֵ֥לֶק | bechelek | with [the] seductiveness of | H2506 → | |
| שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗יהָ | sefateiha | lips her | H8193 → | 176 times |
| תַּדִּיחֶֽנּוּ׃ | tadichenu | she impels him | H5080 → |
הִ֭טַּתּוּshe turns him
hitatuH5186 →214 times
בְּרֹ֣בwith [the] greatness of
beroH7230 →149 times
לִקְחָ֑הּpersuasiveness her
likchahH3948 →9 times
בְּחֵ֥לֶקwith [the] seductiveness of
bechelekH2506 →
שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗יהָlips her
sefateihaH8193 →176 times
תַּדִּיחֶֽנּוּ׃she impels him
tadichenuH5080 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 5:3Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:16
It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:24
to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 2:16
Through
2 Kings 4:8One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.
it leads to
- Genesis 19:3
But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 19:18
Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,
- Genesis 19:3
Through
Psalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 41:6
My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- Psalms 144:8
whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.
- Romans 16:18
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.