Proverbs 7:24

We have here the application of the foregoing story: "Hearken to me therefore, and not to such seducers (Pro 7:24); give ear to a father, and not to an enemy." 1. "Take good counsel when it is given you. Let not thy heart decline to her ways (Pro 7:25); never leave the paths of virtue, though strait and narrow, solitary and up-hill, for the way of the adulteress, though green, and broad, and crowded with company. Do not only keep thy feet from those ways, but let not so much as thy heart incline to them; never harbour a disposition this way, nor think otherwise than with abhorrence of such wicked practices as these. Let reason, and conscience, and the fear of God ruling in the heart, check the inclinations of the sensual appetite. 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 adulteress has been the ruin not of here and there one, but she has cast down many wounded." Thousands have been undone, now and for ever, by this sin; and those not only the weak and simple youths, such as he was of whom he had now spoken, but many strong men have been slain by her, Pro 7:26. Herein, perhaps, he has an eye especially to Samson, who was slain by this sin, and perhaps to David too, who by this sin entailed a sword upon his house, though so far the Lord took it away that he himself should not die. These were men not only of great bodily strength, but of eminent wisdom and courage, and yet their fleshly lusts prevailed over them. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken. Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (2.) "Look forward with an eye of faith, and see what will be in the end of it," Pro 7:27. Her house, though richly decked and furnished, and called a house of pleasure, is the way to hell; and her chambers are the stair-case that goes down to the chambers of death and everlasting darkness. The cup of fornication must shortly be exchanged for the cup of trembling; and the flames of lust, if not quenched by repentance and mortification, will burn to the lowest hell. Therefore stand in awe and sin not.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Pro 7:24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

Ver. 24. Hearken now therefore.] Call up the ears of thy mind {Luk 8:18} to the ears of thy body, that one sound may pierce both. Solomon knew well how hard it was to get ground of a raging lust, even as hard as to get ground of the sea. Hence he so sets on his exhortation.

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_7:24

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children.

On impurity

Cicero says, There is not a more pernicious evil to man than the lust of sensual pleasure; the fertile source of every detestable crime, and the peculiar enemy of the Divine and immortal soul This is true of all sensual pleasures immoderately pursued and gratified beyond the demands of reason and of nature.

I. How contradictory the vice of impurity is to the great laws of nature and of reason, of society and religion.

1. It is in opposition to the first law of our nature, which enjoins the due subordination and subjection of our inferior appetites and passions to the superior and ruling principle of the soul--that principle which distinguishes man from the animal creation. What can be so degrading to our nature as to reverse this first and important law by giving the reins of dominion to an inferior and merely animal appetite, implanted in us, as a slave, to serve the purposes of our temporal existence? Appetites are wholly of sense; with them, abstractly considered, the mind has no concern. But if indulged beyond due bounds, they darken the mind and absorb all its noblest faculties.

2. It opposes the laws of reason, whose peculiar office it is to direct our conduct and form our manners in such a way as becomes the rank and station we bear in the universe. What folly, then, to indulge a vice and pursue a conduct which is at once most opposite to, and most derogatory from, the honour and the dictates of reason! And can anything be more so than the unrestrained gratification of impure desires, with which reason is so far from concurring, that men are obliged to lull its keen remonstrances in the tumult of passion and the hurry of sensual pursuits?

3. It opposes the laws of society--those universal laws of justice, honour, and virtue, upon which all society is founded, and upon the due observation whereof the happiness and the permanence of society depends. Nothing conduces more to corrupt the morals and deprave the minds of youth than the unrestrained gratification of impure and lustful desires; nothing conduces more to spread a general corruption of manners; nothing more affects and harms the nearest and dearest interests of men; nothing introduces more distressful injuries; and nothing is a greater prejudice or discouragement to just and honourable marriage.

4. It opposes the Divine laws. The Divine instructions inform man of the true state of his nature, of his dignity, fall, and possible restoration. Man is informed that his triumph is sure and his reward inestimable if, superior to sense and to appetite, he improves the Godlike principle of reason and virtue in him and purifies himself, even as his God, his great pattern and exemplar, is pure. There are some considerations peculiar to the Christian religion, drawn from the Inhabitation of Gods Holy Spirit in the bodies of believers as His temples, and from their being incorporated by faith as living members into the pure and immaculate body of Jesus Christ. Can men be so senseless as to defile this holy temple? What can the gratification of youthful lusts bestow, adequate to the loss, to the misery which it will assuredly occasion? Neither the laws of God nor of man are founded in fancy or caprice. No precept is imposed with a view to command or prohibit aught that was unessential to their well-being.

II. How inimical the vice of impurity is to the best interests of ourselves and of our neighbours! What ever youth would wish to arrive at true honour and true happiness must scorn with a noble fortitude the allurements of the harlot pleasure, and implicitly follow the counsels of pure virtue. The practice of impurity never can, never did or will, produce aught but thorns and briars, mischiefs and miseries, to others and to ourselves. One peculiar and aggravating circumstance of malignity in this vice is that the perpetration of it involves the ruin of two souls. You cannot be singly guilty. Have pity on yourselves! Have pity on the companions of your sin! The seductions of innocence can never be adequate to the end proposed. It is a complicated guilt. All gratifying of lustful passions must be in a high degree injurious to their fellow-creatures, and particularly to the unhappy partners of their guilt. And the vice of impurity is peculiarly noxious and prejudicial to ourselves, to the mind, body, estate, and reputation. (W. Dodd, LL. D.)

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

Pro 7:24-27. Hearken unto me now therefore — “This is a true representation, my dear children, of the folly and danger of these lewd courses, in which youth is prone to be engaged; and therefore do not look upon it as an idle speculation, but give diligent heed unto it, and be ruled by my advice.” Let not thy heart decline, &c. — “Let not one of you so much as entertain a thought of going to such a woman, much less of consenting to her enticements.” Go not astray in her paths — Do not leave the right and straight way, to go into such crooked paths as hers are. For she hath cast down many wounded — “Do not presume on being safe in such courses, and of making a good retreat at last; for many have been the examples of no mean persons who have fallen in their reputation, their estates, their health, their comforts of life, and, in truth, have utterly perished” by an adulterous woman. “Innumerable are the mighty whom she hath brought to ruin.” The translation of the LXX. is, “She hath cast down many whom she hath wounded; and they whom she hath slain are innumerable.” Her house is the way to hell — “In short, to follow her unto her house is the direct way to hell: every step taken to her bed is, in truth, a going down to the dismal chambers of death, and to the most horrid miseries.” — Bishop Patrick. Calmet justly observes, that “Solomon had no need to go further than his own family for unhappy examples of the ill effects of lust. He was, indeed, himself, afterward, a sad proof of what he here says. How many lions hath the weakness of woman tamed, who, though mean and miserable herself, makes a prey of the great ones of the earth!”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:24-27 The father reasserts the point of his lesson: While an adulteress might look good and a relationship with her is enticing, harm or even death will result.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The inferential admonition is followed (Pro 7:26-27), by a more general allegation of the evils of this vice.

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

Verse 24. Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children] Ye that are young and inexperienced, seriously consider the example set before your eyes, and take warning at another's expense.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. ye children] Rather, Now, therefore, my sons, &c., R.V. It is the same word as that which opens this appeal (Pro_7:1), and is constantly used by the Teacher throughout these addresses. See Pro_1:8, note.

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.

Let not thine heart decline to her ways,.... Or turn not aside from the right way, the path of truth and holiness, to those of the whorish woman, that lead to ruin and destruction; do not so much as think of going out of the one into the other; let there not be the least wandering thought, affection, or disposition of the mind thereunto; stop and check the first motion of the heart, which leads to a compliance with her, and seems to be directed to her ways, or to betray any love and liking of them;

go not astray in her paths; for whoever walks in her paths goes astray from God and his law; from Christ and his Gospel; and from the true church of God; and from the right paths of faith, duty and worship.

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

24, 25. Hearken, etc. — These verses contain an earnest and affectionate exhortation by the teacher to avoid the evils on which he has been discoursing.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The narrative ends here, and the author makes a practical exhortation deduced from it. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children. He began by addressing his words to one, "my son" (ver. 1); he here turns to the young generally, knowing how necessary is his warning to all strong in passion, weak in will, wanting in experience. The Septuagint has "my son," as in ver. 1.

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

With ועתּה, as at Pro 5:7, the author now brings his narrative to a close, adding the exhortation deduced from it:

24 And now, ye children, give ear unto me,

And observe the words of my mouth!

25 Let not thine heart incline to her ways,

And stray not in her paths.

The verb שׂטה (whence jēst, like jēt, Pro 4:15, with long ē from i) the author uses also of departure from a wicked way (Pro 4:15); but here, where the portraiture of a faithless wife (a סוטה) is presented, the word used in the law of jealousy, Num 5, for the trespass of an אשׁת אישׁ is specially appropriate. שׂטה is interchanged with תּעה (cf. Gen 21:14): wander not on her paths, which would be the consequence of straying on them. Theodotion: καὶ μὴ πλανηθῇς ἐν ἀτραποῖς αὐτῆς, with καί, as also Syr., Targ., and Jerome. The Masora reckons this verse to the 25 which have אל at the beginning and ואל at the middle of each clause (vid., Baer in the Luth. Zeitschrift, 1865, p. 587); the text of Norzi has therefore correctly ואל, which is found also in good MSS (e.g., the Erfurt, 2 and 3).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

In the hand of a licentious poet or painter, this picture might serve to contaminate the unsanctified imagination. But as it stands on the page of inspiration, it is God’s solemn warning to children, whether in years, understanding, or experience. Now, therefore, that you have seen the end of sin (Pro 7:22-23 ), hearken unto me. That you may not go astray in her paths, let not thine heart decline. (Pro 4:23 ; Pro 5:8 .) An impure thought, a polluted fancy, an idle book, filthy conversation, foolish company, theatres or places of vain resort — these are her ways. Dread the first step, and dream not that you can stop yourself at pleasure in her course. Familiarity with sin weakens abhorrence. Soon will you begin to love the object of detestation. And what! should you find too late, that you have chosen as your home her house, which is the way to hell, and to the chambers of death?†1 Many, not of the meaner sort, but strong men has she cast down wounded and slain. And a miracle it is of Almighty power and grace, that plucks the child of God from the brink of destruction.

Let not then the most established Christian dismiss this subject as of no personal concern. Be it so — that "you are risen with Christ;" that you have "set your affections on things above;" that "your life is hid with Christ in God;" that you are looking for the glorious hope of his "appearing." It is to you, in whom "fleshly lusts are yet warring against the soul" (1Pe 2:11 ), that the exhortation is given — Mortify, therefore, your members that are upon the earth — even the worst members of the old man — fornication, uncleanness, evil concupiscence.†2 And who, with the picture of the wounded and slain before him will revolt? — "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" (2Ki 8:13 ) — that he should need this warning? Look at the footsteps of the strong men who have gone in.†3 Whom do we see come out whole? "Behold! kings stood not before her; how then shall we stand?" (2Ki 10:4 .)

Nor let present steadfastness, or seclusion from temptation, blind our eyes to the liability of yielding to the vilest indulgence. The eye of God discerns a far deeper corruption than appears in the outer man — such a total depravation, that even the affections, designed to be the sources of our holiest delight, become the principle and occasion of the most awful departures from the ways of purity and peace.

The gospel presents the only remedy. The love of Christ is the counteracting principle to the love of lust. ’If impure love solicits, remember the holy love of thy Savior to thee, proved by his most shameful death. Think of him, as looking into thy heart boiling over with corruption, showing thee his wounds, and exciting thee to a reciprocal love of himself.’†4 The crucifixion of the flesh by a living union with Him will "keep us from our iniquity." (Gal 5:24, with Psa 18:23 .) "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom 6:2-3 .) "The flesh will still lust against the Spirit." (Gal 5:17 .) But the man, who walks with God in Gospel liberty, and Christian discipline and watchfulness, is safe. (Rom 6:14, with 1Co 9:27 .)

But if sin be not mortified by these principles, sooner or later it will break out; if not, as here, to open disgrace; yet so as to defile the conscience, to "quench the Spirit," and by a sure, though perhaps imperceptible, course, to bring soul and body to hell — to the chambers of eternal death. (Rom 6:21 . Jas 1:14-15 .)

Footnotes:

†1 Pro 2:18; Pro 9:18 . The plural number (the ways, Heb.) seems to imply ’many other ways of guilt branching out, many other paths of ruin coinciding.’ — Hervey’s Theron and Aspasio. Letter v. Shultens insists, that the present most wretched state, full of all horror and execration, is included; so that the man who hath entered the seducer’s house, may be said to have entered alive into hell, and gone down to the chamber of death. — Pro 5:5 .

†2 Col 3:1-5. Compare the exhortation to the flourishing Thessalonian Church, 1Th 4:3-5; and to a Christian Bishop, 2Ti 2:22 .

†3 Samson — David — Solomon. Neh 13:26 .

Vestigia terrent.

†4 Geier on Pro 7:18 . Compare 1Co 6:18, 1Co 6:20 ; 2Co 5:14-15 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now

This is to focus the attention of the speaker's sons on the conclusion of this lesson.

May your heart not turn aside onto her paths

Here "ways" means the paths that a person chooses to walk on. It represents the person's behavior, the things that he decides to do in life. AT: "Make your heart stay far away from the ways of the adulterous woman" or "Do not let your heart want to do the things that the adulterous woman does" (See: Metaphor)

your heart

Here "heart" represents a person, emphasizing his desires. AT: "you" (See: Synecdoche)

do not be led astray onto her paths

This means the same as the sentence before it. It strengthens the first warning. AT: "do not leave the right path in order to go on her paths" (See: Parallelism)

translationWords

heart

astray

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.