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24 So now, sons,[a] listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak.[b]
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways—
do not wander into her pathways;
26 for she has brought down[c] many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many.[d]
27 Her house is the way to the grave,[e]
going down to the chambers of death.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:24 tn The literal translation “sons” works well here in view of the warning. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “children.”
  2. Proverbs 7:24 tn Heb “the words of my mouth.”
  3. Proverbs 7:26 tn Heb “she has caused to fall.”
  4. Proverbs 7:26 tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”
  5. Proverbs 7:27 tn The noun “Sheol” in parallelism to “the chambers of death” probably means the grave. The noun is a genitive of location, indicating the goal of the road(s). Her house is not the grave; it is, however, the sure way to it. Cf. 2:18.sn Her house is the way to the grave. The young man’s life is not destroyed in one instant; it is taken from him gradually as he enters into a course of life that will leave him as another victim of the wages of sin. The point of the warning is to prevent such a course from starting. Sin can certainly be forgiven, but the more involvement in this matter the greater the alienation from the healthy community.