Proverbs 7:25
in Proverbs 7Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths.
KJV
Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
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This verse in Proverbs 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Now, my sons, listen to me
on Proverbs 7:24-27
The father widens the address from one son to “my sons,” and one man's story becomes a warning for every reader who has watched it. The chapter closes on “Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death,” the choice between life and death.
This site's exposition
do not stray into her paths
The warning begins in the heart and then reaches the feet. The young man of verse 8 took his first steps down her road before he ever met her, placing himself in the way of sin. Her paths end at the chambers of death in verse 27.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. These verses are an introduction to his warning against fleshly lusts, much the same with that, ch. vi.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:42w-of-60
Let not thine heart decline to her ways,....
If thou goest in her paths, in any of the paths that lead to this sin, thou goest astray, thou art out of the right way, the safe way; therefore take heed, go not astray, lest thou wander endlessly." 2. "Take fair warning when it is given you." (1.) "Look back, and see what mischief this sin has done.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יֵ֣שְׂטְ | yeset | it turn aside | H7847 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דְּרָכֶ֣יהָ | derakheiha | ways her | H1870 → | 707 times |
| לִבֶּ֑ךָ | libekha | heart your | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּ֝תַע | teta' | it go astray | H8582 → | 50 times |
| בִּנְתִיבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | bintivoteiha | in pathways her | H5410 → | 26 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יֵ֣שְׂטְit turn aside
yesetH7847 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דְּרָכֶ֣יהָways her
derakheihaH1870 →707 times
לִבֶּ֑ךָheart your
libekhaH3820 →595 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֵּ֝תַעit go astray
teta'H8582 →50 times
בִּנְתִיבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃in pathways her
bintivoteihaH5410 →26 times
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
Matthew 5:28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
it leads to
- James 1:14–15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- James 1:14–15
Through
Isaiah 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:25
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Psalms 119:176
I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
- Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
- Romans 4:25
He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
- 1 Peter 2:25
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.