Proverbs 7:26

Pro 7:26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong [men] have been slain by her.

Ver. 26. For she hath cast down many.] That have let in death at those windows of wickedness, those loop holes of lust; that have died of the wound in the eye. Aliorum perditio tua sit cautio - Seest thou another man shipwrecked, look well to thy tacklings.

Yea, many strong men have been slain by her.] The valour of man hath oft been slaved by the wiles of a woman. Witness many of your greatest martialists, who conquered countries, and were vanquished of vices, being captivarum suarum captivi. The Persian kings commanded the whole world, and were commanded by their concubines. So was Alexander, Samson, Hercules, whom some make to be the same as Samson.

“ Lenam non potuit, potuit superare leaenam:

Quem fera non potuit vincere, vicit hera. ”

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.

Neither wit nor strength can deliver them that fall into the hands of the harlot.

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

Even the mightiest fail to resist her deathly allurements.

Next: Proverbs Chapter 8

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 26. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.] That is, such like women have been the ruin of many. חללים chalalim, which we render wounded, also signifies soldiers or men of war; and עצמים atsumim, which we render strong men, may be translated heroes. Many of those who have distinguished themselves in the field and in the cabinet have been overcome and destroyed by their mistresses. History is full of such examples.

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

26. many strong] This is the rendering of a single Heb. word, which may mean mighty, as it usually does, or (comp. the use of the verb in Psa_40:5; Psa_40:12 [Hebrews 6, 13]) many. Lit. mighty ones, or numerous ones, are all her slain, i.e. the whole number of those slain by her amount to a mighty host, as it is happily rendered in R.V. The thought is not so much of the individual strength of her victims as of their great number, as the parallelism indicates: ἀναρίθμητοί εἰσιν οὒς πεφόνευκε, “numberless are they whom she has slain,” LXX.

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.

Her house is the way to hell,.... Or "ways" (p); the broad highway to it; either to the grave, as "sheol" often signifies; or to hell itself, the place of the damned: to go into her house, and commit wickedness with her, is to take a step to destruction, a large stride towards hell; and, if grace prevent not, will bring a man thither. Who would go into such a house, and much less dwell there, which is the very suburbs of hell?

going down to the chambers of death; to enter her chamber, to step into her bed, howsoever decked and adorned, entertaining and inviting it is, not only leads to the chambers of the grave, as the Targum; but to the lowest and innermost parts of hell; the apartments of the second death, the lot of all unclean and idolatrous persons, without repentance and faith. The Phoenicians called Pluto, the god of hell, by the name of Moth (q), a word similar to this used here; and so those chambers are no other than the chambers of hell. Plautus (r) also calls the gate of a whore's house the gate of hell; which agrees with the first clause of the verse.

(p) "viae", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. (q) Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 38. (r) "Januam hane orci", Bacchides, Act. 3. Sc. 1. v. 1.

Next: Proverbs Chapter 8

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

The house of the harlot is now likened to a field of battle strewn with the corpses of the many slain.

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

Her. Solomon gave a melancholy proof of this, as well as David, and Amnon. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Strong men; men that excel others, either,

1. In bodily strength, upon which they presume, which yet is wasted, and by degrees ruined, by these courses. Or,

2. In wisdom, and fortitude, and resolution; whereby he implies how much more necessary it is for a weak and foolish young man to use all possible care and diligence to avoid this mischief.

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

26. For she — That is, such women. She is taken representatively. The sentiment is: Innumerable mighty men, or mighty hosts, have thus been brought to ruin. If the strong are slain, how can you escape, if enticed into the snare? Miller, “For mighty men, when polluted, she has hurled down,” etc. “The most valiant heroes, the most puissant soldiers, that never yielded, but stood undaunted against all other assaults, have generally been vanquished, and frequently destroyed, by the allurements of women.” — Hammond. The fall of Hannibal’s army in Italy is an example in point. Compare Num_22:5, etc.; Pro_25:1, etc.

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

For she hath east down many wounded. Delitzsch, "For many are the slain whom she hath caused to fall." The harlot marks her course with ruined souls, as a ruthless conqueror leaves a field of battle strewn with corpses. Yea, many strong (atsum) men have been slain by her. One thinks of Samson and David and Solomon, the victims of illicit love, and suffering for it. Vulgate, et fortissimi quique interfecti sunt ab ea. But the Septuagint and many moderns take atsum in the sense of "numerous," as Psa_35:18; anariymhtoi , "innumerable are her slain," The former interpretation seems preferable, and avoids tautology.

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

The admonition, having its motive in that which goes before, is now founded on the emphatic finale:

26 For many are the slain whom she hath caused to fall,

And many are her slain.

27 A multiplicity of ways to help is her house,

Going down to the chambers of death.

The translation "for many slain has she laid low" (Syr., Targ., Jerome, Luther) is also syntactically possible; for רבּים can be placed before its substantive after the manner of the demonstratives and numerals (e.g., Neh 9:28, cf. אחד, Sol 4:9), and the accentuation which requires two servants (the usual two Munachs) to the Athnach appears indeed thus to construe it. It is otherwise if רבים here meant magni (thus e.g., Ralbag, and recently Bertheau), and not multi; but רבים and עצמים stand elsewhere in connection with each other in the signification many and numerous, Psa 35:18; Joe 2:2; Mic 4:3. "Her slain" are those slain by her; the part. pass. is connected with the genitive of the actor, e.g., Pro 9:18; cf. (Arab.) ḳatyl âlmḥabbt, of one whom love kills (Fl.). With Pro 7:27 cf. Pro 2:18; Pro 9:18. In 27a, בּיתהּ is not equivalent to בביתה after Pro 8:2, also not elliptical and equivalent to דרכי ביתה; the former is unnecessary, the latter is in no case established by Psa 45:7; Ezr 10:13, nor by Deu 8:15; Kg2 23:17 (see, on the other hand, Philippi's Status Constructus, pp. 87-93). Rightly Hitzig has: her house forms a multiplicity of ways to hell, in so far as adultery leads by a diversity of ways to hell. Similarly the subject and the predicate vary in number, Pro 16:25; Psa 110:3; Job 26:13; Dan 9:23, and frequently. If one is once in her house, he may go in this or in that way, but surely his path is to destruction: it consists of many steps to hell, such as lead down (דרך, fem. Isa 37:34, masc. Isa 30:21) to the extreme depths of death (cf. Job 9:9, "chambers of the south" = its remotest regions veiling themselves in the invisible); for חדר (Arab. khiddr) is the part of the tent or the house removed farthest back, and the most private (Fl.). These חדרי־מות, cf. עמקי שׁאול, Pro 9:18, approach to the conception of גּיהנּם, which is afterwards distinguished from שאול.

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.)

She has caused many people to fall down pierced

Being pierced by spears or arrows represents being killed. AT: "She has caused many people to fall dead" (See: Metonymy)

Her house is on the paths to Sheol ... they go down

Here "paths" represents the kinds of behavior that foolish people participate in. Sheol was the name for the world of the dead.

on the paths to Sheol ... down to the dark bedrooms of death

These two phrases basically mean the same thing and are repeated to emphasize that the woman's victims will be destroyed. (See: Parallelism)

the dark bedrooms of death

This expression pictures the dead as sleeping in many different rooms in Sheol. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Hades

die

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