Proverbs 7:23

Pro 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it [is] for his life.

Ver. 23. Till a dart strike through his liver,] i.e, Filthy lust, that fiery dart of the devil, pointed and poisoned (as the Scythian darts are said to be) with the gall of asps and vipers. Philosophers {a} place lust in the liver. Mathematicians subject the liver to Venus; the poets {b} complain of cupid’s wounding them in that part.

“ Cor sapit, et pulmo loquitur, fel commovit iras:

Splen ridere facit, cogit amare iecor."

Or, as some sense it, Till the adulterer be, by the whore’s husband or friends, or by the hand of justice, deprived of life; perhaps in the very act, as Zimri and Cozbi were by Phinehas in the very flagrancy of their lust.

{a} Plato in hepate το επιθυμητικον ponit.

{b} Horat., Ode v. lib. iv., and Ode xxv. lib. v. Ovid. Trist.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro_7:23

Till a dart strike through his liver.

The gospel of health

Solomon had noticed, either in vivisection or in post-mortem, what awful attacks sin and dissipation make upon the liver, until the fiat of Almighty God bids the soul and body separate. A javelin of retribution, not glancing off or making a slight wound, but piercing it from side to side till a dart strike through his liver. Galen and Hippocrates ascribe to the liver the most of the worlds moral depression, and the word melancholy means black bile. Let Christian people avoid the mistake that they are all wrong with God because they suffer from depression of spirits. Oftentimes the trouble is wholly due to physical conditions. The difference in physical conditions makes things look so differently. Another practical use of this subject is for the young. The theory is abroad that they must first sow their wild oats and then Michigan wheat. Let me break the delusion. Wild oats are generally sown in the liver, and they can never be pulled up. In after-life, after years of dissipation, you may have your heart changed, but religion does not change the liver. God forgives, but outraged physical law never. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, It is for his life.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Till--He is now caught (Pro 6:26).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(23) Till a dart strike through his liver.—These words must be taken in a parenthesis.

That it is for his life.—i.e., at the cost of it, when “his flesh and body are consumed,” and remorse has seized upon him (Pro_5:11).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. dart] Rather, arrow, R.V.; sagitta, Vulg. The LXX. have ἢ ὡς ἔλαφος τοξεύματι πεπληγὼς εἰς τὸ ἧπαρ.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, read, in the singular number, "my son", in the same manner as the chapter begins; but it is in the plural number in the Hebrew text; and so read the Targum and Syriac version, "children", the children of Solomon; not only those of his own body, but all such that put themselves under his instruction, or were willing to take his advice: it may be extended to all the children of men, for all are interested herein; especially such who profess to be the children of God and of Christ, the followers of wisdom. This is the epilogue, or application of the above story. Since this is the case, that young men are in danger of being ensnared and brought to ruin by this harlot, therefore take the advice of the wisest of men, even of Wisdom herself;

and attend to the words of my mouth; the doctrines of Christ; the best preservative from the allurements of the whore of Rome.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The first clause does not connect itself very clearly with the foregoing, and is probably affected by the corrupt text which makes it perplexing.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

His liver, i.e. his vital parts, whereof the liver is one. Till his life be lost, as it is explained in the next clause.

Knoweth not; which may be referred either to a foolish and inconsiderate young man; or to the silly bird to which he is compared, which comes to the same thing.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Till a dart strike through his liver. This clause would be better taken with the preceding verse, as in the Septuagint, or else placed in a parenthesis; then the following clause introduces a new come parison. The youth follows the harlot till his liver, the seat of the passions, is thoroughly inflamed, or till fatal consequences ensue. Theocr., "Id," 11:15 Ecyiston ecwn upokardion elkov Kupriov ek megalav to oi hpati paxe belemnon . "Beneath his breast A hateful wound he bore by Cypris given, Who in his liver fixed the fatal dart.

Delitzsch would relegate the hemistich to the end of the verse, making it denote the final result of mad and illicit love. The sense thus gained is satisfactory, but the alteration is quite arbitrary, and unsupported by ancient authority. As a bird hasteth to the snare. This is another comparison. (see Pro_1:17, the first proverb in the book, and note there) And knoweth not that it is for his life; i.e. the infatuated youth does not consider that his life is at stake, that he is bringing upon himself, by his vicious rashness, temporal and spiritual ruin. (Pro_5:11)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His liver - His vital parts, 'till his life be lost.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

as a bird hastens to run to a snare, and it does not know that the snare was spread out there for the life of the bird.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.