Daily reading
Proverbs · VII · 21–27
Proverbs 7:21–27 · NLT
XXVIII · X · MMXXVI
Key verses · Proverbs 7:21–27 · NLT
22e followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, (NLT)
25Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. (NLT)
Proverbs 7:21–27 · New Living Translation
21o she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.
22He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,
23awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
24So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.
25Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.
26For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.
27Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death. (NLT)
A note on Scripture quoting
We’ve hit this translation’s public quoting limit for now, so this is a good time to pick up your own Bible and read the rest of the passage.
In short
The pitch works. Pretty words and flattery win, and the young man follows her "at once." Then come three pictures: an ox walking calmly to the slaughter, a stag caught in a trap, a bird flying into a snare. None of them sees what's coming. That's the point. He thinks he's choosing pleasure, but he's walking into something that will cost him his life.
Then the father stops telling the story and talks straight to his sons. Notice where he puts the battle: "Don't let your hearts stray." The fall in verse 22 happened fast, but it started back in verse 8, with a walk down the wrong street. The real decision is made early, in the heart and on the path, long before the moment of temptation shows up.
Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. (NLT)
Proverbs 7:25
Try today
Pick one "wrong street" in your life, a place, app, habit, or time of day where you tend to drift, and decide right now, while you're clear-headed, to take a different route today. It's much easier to skip the path than to win the fight at the end of it.