PROV 7:21 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ἀπεπλάνησε δὲ αὐτὸν πολλῇ ὁμιλίᾳ, βρόχοις τε τοῖς ἀπὸ χειλέων ἐξώκειλεν αὐτόν.
(Apeplanaʸse de auton pollaʸ homilia, broⱪois te tois apo ⱪeileōn exōkeilen auton. )

BrTr So with much converse she prevailed on him to go astray, and with the snares of her lips she forced him from the right path.

ULT She leads him astray with the abundance of her instruction;
⇔ with the smoothness of her lips she compels him.

UST Thus that adulterous woman persuaded the young man by speaking many persuasive things;
⇔ by speaking seductively she allured him into doing what she wanted him to do.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE With persuasive words, she led him astray.
⇔ With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET She persuaded him with persuasive words;
⇔ with her smooth talk she compelled him.

LSV She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech,
She forces him with the flattery of her lips.

FBV She convinced him with all that she said; she seduced him with her smooth talking.

T4T ⇔ So she persuaded him by her enticing/tempting words.
⇔ She allured him by her smooth/sweet talk.

LEB • She persuades him with the greatness of her teachings; with her smooth lips she compels him.

BBE With her fair words she overcame him, forcing him with her smooth lips.

Moff With her coaxing pleas she persuades him,
⇔ with her smooth words she carries him away;

JPS With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield, with the blandishment of her lips she enticeth him away.

ASV With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield;
⇔ With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.

DRA She entangled him with many words, and drew him away with the flattery of her lips.

YLT She turneth him aside with the abundance of her speech, With the flattery of her lips she forceth him.

Drby With her much enticement she beguiled him; with the smoothness of her lips she constrained him.

RV With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forceth him away.

SLT With much of her talking she caused him to turn aside; with the smoothness of her lips she will thrust him away.

Wbstr With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she impelled him.

KJB-1769 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

KJB-1611 With much faire speech she caused him to yeeld, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
(With much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.)

Bshps Thus with many sweete wordes she ouercame him, and with her flattering lippes she entised hym.
(Thus with many sweet words she overcame him, and with her flattering lips she enticed him.)

Gnva Thus with her great craft she caused him to yeelde, and with her flattering lips she entised him.
(Thus with her great craft she caused him to yeelde, and with her flattering lips she enticed him. )

Cvdl Thus with many swete wordes she ouercame him, and with hir flateringe lippes she wanne him.
(Thus with many sweet words she overcame him, and with her flateringe lips she wanne him.)

Wycl Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
(She boonde him with many words; and she drew forth him with flateryngis of lips.)

Luth Sie überredete ihn mit vielen Worten und gewann ihn ein mit ihrem glatten Munde.
(They/She aboveredete him/it with many words and won him/it a with their smooth mouth.)

ClVg Irretivit eum multis sermonibus, et blanditiis labiorum protraxit illum.
(Irretivit him many conversations, and blanditiis of_the_lips protraxit him. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 7:1–27: Tenth lesson: Here is an example of a young man who was seduced by a married woman

This lesson is another warning to avoid adultery. It begins with an appeal that the son pay attention to his father’s advice. This advice will protect him from being seduced by an adulteress (7:1–5). The main part of the lesson has the form of a first person narrative. The narrator tells how he observed a young man being seduced (7:6–23). First the story focuses on the young man (7:6–9), then it describes the adulteress (7:10–12) and her enticing words (7:13–20). Finally it tells how the young man yielded to the temptation (7:21–23). The lesson concludes with an appeal that the son follow his father’s advice rather than be seduced by the adulteress, because involvement with her will lead to death (7:24–27).

Some other headings for this section are:

Warning Against the Adulteress (NIV)

The story about an adulteress who tempted a young man

Paragraph 7:21–23

This paragraph gives the result of the woman’s flattering and persuasive words in 7:14–20. Some translations make this explicit at the beginning of verse 21. For example:

And so… (CEV)

So… (NLT)

7:21

The Hebrew has parallel parts that are similar in meaning. They form a chiasm. The parts in 7:21a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 7:21b, as can be seen in the NIV below.In Hebrew the parallel parts also form a chiasm, but the order is opposite from the NIV order. In Hebrew the order is: “She led him astray with the abundance of her teaching; with the smoothness of her lips she seduced him.”

^21a With persuasive words she led him astray; (NIV)

^21b she seduced him with her smooth talk. (NIV)

If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to reorder the parallel parts, as the BSB does. Here is another way to reorder the parts:

^21a she led him astray with persuasive words;

^21b she seduced him with her smooth talk.

7:21a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ So by means of her persuasive “teaching” she persuaded him to leave the right path.

With her great persuasion…with her flattering lips: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as great persuasion usually means “learning” or “teaching” (see 1:5a–b, 4:2a), but it also has the connotation of persuasion.NIDOTTE (H4375), TWOT (#1124a), and BDB (#3948) all give “persuasion/persuasiveness” as one of the meanings of leqaḥ. But “teaching” is clearly the primary meaning. Fox (page 249) says that it connotes but does not denote persuasiveness. In 16:21 the BSB translates it as “instruction.” In describing the words of the immoral wife as “teaching” or “instruction,” the author is using irony.Fox (page 249) says the writer is using a “facetious tone,” and Cook (page 29) describes it as “keen irony.” Murphy (page 44) and Ross (page 941) also comment on the ironic use of “instruction/teaching.” He intends the reader to contrast the true teaching of Wisdom with the false or so-called “teaching” of the adulteress.

In some languages, it may be possible to convey this irony by putting the word “teaching/instruction” in quotes or by adding the words “so-called” or an expression with similar meaning. If it is not possible to convey the irony in the text, it is suggested that you add a footnote similar to the following:

The Hebrew word used here is the same as the word used in 1:5 and 16:21 (instruction/teaching). The writer intends us to understand that the teaching of the adulteress is not really teaching at all.

With her great persuasion: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as With her great persuasion is more literally “with the abundance of her teaching/persuasion.” The NIV has left the word “abundance” implied. Some English versions, like the BSB, have made it explicit. For example:

With much seductive speech (NRSV)

You will need to decide whether to make this emphasis explicit in your translation.

flattering lips: The phrase flattering lips is literally “smoothness of her lips.” Here it is a figure of speech (metonymy) that refers to enticing or flattering words. For similar expressions, see the notes on 2:16b, 5:3a–b and 6:24a–b.

she lures him: The verb translated here as lures is used elsewhere in the OT of God “banishing” or “scattering” the nation of Israel into exile. In this verse, both verbs mean “to cause someone to go astray” or “to turn someone from the right path.”

7:21a

With her great persuasion she entices him;

¶ And so, with her so-called “instruction” she persuaded him to do wrong.

General Comment on 7:21a–b

In Hebrew poetry, the chiastic arrangement of parallel parts in parallel lines is used for poetic effect. In some languages, it may be ungrammatical or may sound unnatural to reorder parts of the sentence chiastically. If that is true in your language, use a natural word order, and try to preserve the beauty of the poetic form in other ways.

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. For example:

So it was that she caused him to turn from the right path by means of her flattery and persuasive “teaching.”

7:21b

with her flattering lips she lures him.

She made him leave the right path by her flattering words.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-tense

הִ֭טַּתּ⁠וּ & תַּדִּיחֶֽ⁠נּוּ

she,turns_him & she,impels_him

Here Solomon uses the present tense in past narration in order to call attention to a development in the story. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense. Alternate translation: “She led him astray … she compelled him”

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

הִ֭טַּתּ⁠וּ & לִקְחָ֑⁠הּ & שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗י⁠הָ תַּדִּיחֶֽ⁠נּוּ

she,turns_him & her_persuasiveness_of,of & her/its=lips she,impels_him

She and her in this verse refer to the adulterous woman who spoke in [7:14–20](../07/14.md) and him refers to the young man whom she is seducing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “The adulterous woman led the young man astray … that woman’s teaching … that woman’s lips she compels that man”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

הִ֭טַּתּ⁠וּ

she,turns_him

Here Solomon speaks of the woman persuading the young man to do something as if she were causing him to change the direction in which he was walking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “She persuaded him”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

בְּ⁠רֹ֣ב לִקְחָ֑⁠הּ

with,the_greatness_of her_persuasiveness_of,of

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to refer to an abundant amount of instruction. This word is used elsewhere in Proverbs for good instruction, but here it is bad instruction. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “with her abundant amount of instruction”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְּ⁠חֵ֥לֶק שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗י⁠הָ

with,the_seductiveness_of her/its=lips

Here Solomon refers to the seductive speech of the adulterous woman as if it were the smoothness of her lips. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “with her seductive speech”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

תַּדִּיחֶֽ⁠נּוּ

she,impels_him

Here Solomon implies that the adulterous woman compelled the young man to commit adultery with her. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “she compelled him to go with her” or “she compelled him to have sex with her”