Proverbs 7:23

Modern

…until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.

Traditional

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

Literal

…until an arrow splits his liver, like the hurrying of a bird to the snare, and he did not know that it was for his soul!

Latin

…donec transfigat sagitta jecur ejus, velut si avis festinet ad laqueum, et nescit quod de periculo animæ illius agitur.

Hebrew

English

…until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.

The young man's unwise actions could endanger his life (see Proverbs 5:11; 6:32–35).

The young man's father shares a story to explain his lesson about women with questionable morals.

This is the final section in Proverbs 1–9 that warns about the dangers of promiscuous women (see also Proverbs 2:16–22; 5:1–23; 6:20–35).

Theme notes and profiles

Ecclesiastes 9:12
For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
Proverbs 9:18
But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 1:17
How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!
Numbers 25:8–9
…followed the Israelite into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted,