He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
Parallel Translations
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He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
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He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
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He goeth after her straightway, as an ox that goeth to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool;
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Proverbs 7:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 13:27 You also put my feet in the stocks, and mark all my paths. You set a bound to the soles of my feet,
- Jeremiah 20:2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in Yahweh’s house.
- Acts 14:13 The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes.
- Acts 16:24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which goeth cheerfully, not knowing that he shall be…
Which goeth cheerfully, not knowing that he shall be chastised.
Which thinking he goeth to the pasture, goeth willingly to his own destruction.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an…
Pro 7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Ver. 22. He goeth after her straightway.] Without any consideration of the sad consequences. Lust had blinded and besotted him, and even transformed him into a brute. Nos animas etiam incarnavimus, saith one. Many men have made their very spirit a lump of flesh, and are hurried on to hell with greatest violence. Chide them, you do but give medicine in a fit; counsel them, you do but give advice to a man that is running a race; be your counsel never so good, he cannot stay to hear you, but will be ready to answer, as Antipater did when one presented him with a book treating of happiness, he rejected it, and said ου σχολαζω, I have no leisure to read such discourses.
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As an ox goeth to the slaughter.] When he thinks he goeth to the pasture; or as those oxen brought forth by Jupiter’s priest, with garlands unto the gates, but it was for a slain sacrifice. {Act 14:13} Fatted ware are but fitted for the shambles.
Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.] Such stocks as Paul and Silas (yet no fools) were thrust into, feet and neck also, as the word there signifieth {a} {Act 14:24} This the fool fears not till he feels; till his head be cooled, and his heels too till he hath slept out his drunkenness, and then he finds where he is, and must stick by it. See this exemplified in Pro 5:11. How many such fools have we today ( mori morantur quocunque sub axe morantur) that rejoice in their spiritual bondage, and dance to hell in their bolts, as one saith; nay, are weary of deliverance. They sit in the stocks when they are at prayers, and come out of the church when the tedious sermon runs somewhat beyond the hour, like prisoners out of a jail. The devil is at inn with such, saith Master Bradford; and the devil will keep holiday, as it were in hell, in respect of such, saith another.
{a} Beza in loc.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Straightway; without delay and consideration.
Straightway; without delay and consideration.
As an ox to the slaughter; either being drawn and driven to it; or going to it securely, as if it were going to a good pasture.
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As a fool to the correction of the stocks; or, which is more agreeable to the order of the words in the Hebrew text, as one in fetters, or bound with fetters, to the correction of a fool, i.e. to receive such correction or punishment as belongs to fools; which may imply either,
1. That he hath no more sense of the shame and mischief which he is bringing upon himself than a fool. Or,
2. That he can no more resist the temptation, nor avoid the danger, than a man fast tied with chains or fetters can free himself, although his be a moral and voluntary, and not a natural impotency.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Till a dart strike through his liver,.... The fountain…
Till a dart strike through his liver,.... The fountain of blood, and so of life; which, being pierced through and poured out, is certain death, Lam 2:11; the meaning is, till he is slain either by the hand of God, or by the civil magistrate, or by the jealous husband; and be thrust through by him, as Zimri and Cozbi were by Phinehas. The "liver" may be particularly mentioned, not only for the reason before given, but because it is the seat of lust (l); so he is stricken in the part where his lust begins, where he has been smitten by Cupid's darts: or this dart through the liver may denote some disease, infecting the blood through sinful lust. The Targum is,
"as an hart into whose liver an arrow flies;''
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or is wounded by an arrow in the liver, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: and so the meaning is, that this young man went as swiftly after the harlot as a hart does when it is wounded;
as a bird hasteth to the snare; it has its eye upon the bait, and flies swiftly to that, insensible of the snare that is laid for it;
and knoweth not that it is for his life; the bird knows not that the snare is set for its life, as Jarchi; or the fool knows not that it is for his soul; that it shall die, which hates correction, as Aben Ezra. The man that goes after the harlot knows not, or does not consider, that it is to the destruction of his precious and immortal soul; so the Targum,
"he knows not that it tends to the death of his soul;''
and to the same sense the Syriac and Arabic versions; the second death, which adulterers and idolaters shall have their part in, Rev 21:8. The souls of men, and the ruin of them, are what the whore of Rome deals in, Rev 18:13; she goes into perdition, into the bottomless pit, herself, and carries all her worshippers with her, Rev 17:8.
(l) "Spleu ridere facit, cogit amare jecur", Ovid. "Si torrere jecur quaeris idoneum", Horat. Carmin. l. 4. Ode 1. v. 12. "Cum tibi flagrans amor et libido saeviet circa jecur ulcerosum". lbid l. 1. Ode 25. v. 13, 15.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain As an ox - Going to it securely, as…
As an ox - Going to it securely, as if it were going to a good pasture.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. As an ox goeth to the slaughter]…
Verse 22. As an ox goeth to the slaughter] The original of this and the following verse has been variously translated. Dr. Grey corrects and translates thus: "He goeth after her straightway, as an OX goeth to the SLAUGHTER; as a DOG to the CHAIN; and as a DEER till the DART strike through his liver; as a BIRD hasteneth to the SNARE, and knoweth not that it is for its life." Very slight alterations in the Hebrew text produce these differences; but it is not necessary to pursue them; all serve to mark the stupidity and folly of the man who is led away by enticing women or who lives a life of intemperance.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain As a fool ... - literally, “As a fetter…
As a fool ... - literally, “As a fetter to the correction of a fool,” the order of which is inverted in the King James Version The Septuagint, followed by the Syriac Version, has another reading, and interprets the clause: “As a dog, enticed by food, goes to the chain that is to bind him, so does the youth go to the temptress.” None of the attempts of commentators to get a meaning out of the present text are in any degree satisfactory.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Lamb. Protestants, "fool to the correction of the stocks,"…
Lamb. Protestants, "fool to the correction of the stocks," (Haydock) or "like a shackle (abs.) for the chastisement of a fool." (Mont.[Montanus?]) --- Interpreters have read different words. (Calmet) --- Sinners who have given way to temptations, are as inconsiderate as oxen, or birds which hasten to their own ruin. (Worthington)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain straightway--quickly, either as ignorant of danger, or incapable of…
straightway--quickly, either as ignorant of danger, or incapable of resistance.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 22, 23. He goeth after her — The participle…
22, 23. He goeth after her — The participle הולךְ, (holekh,) goeth, involves its own nominative, which may as well be an indefinite one, he who, or whoever; and the teacher may not so much intend to give historically the fate of this particular youth, as the general results of such indulgence. Such a conclusion to a poetic narrative — a sudden transition from the particular to the general — is altogether in the Hebrew manner. See Jdg_5:31. These verses are somewhat involved, and obscure as to the particular meaning and relations of the several clauses. But the general meaning is plain enough, which is, that unexpected and terrible evils will speedily overtake him that yields to unlawful hast. Miller renders the last clause, “And knows not that he is in its very throat.” Compare Isa_5:14; and Hab_2:5, in the original. There is a general impression among the critics that these verses have somehow been disturbed. By the aid of the versions something like the following has been proposed as approximating to the true reading: —
1. He goeth after her straightway, —
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2. As an ox goeth to the slaughter, 3. As a dog goeth to the halter, 4. As a stag, till a dart pierce his liver, 5. As a bird hasteth to the snare, — 6. And knoweth not that it is for his life.
The first and sixth lines form a parallelism, and state the proposition. If these be read consecutively, the sense and connexion will be perceived: —
He goeth after her straightway,
And knoweth not that it is for his life.
The intervening four lines give the illustrations or similes. Such artistic constructions occur elsewhere in the Hebrew poets. Psa_84:6-7, is regarded as a similar example of a six line stanza, the first and the last forming a parallelism or continuous sense; and the intervening lines showing the progress from the beginning to the end of the action.
The progress of the motion in this passage may be observed: With her much fair speech or “taking ways” she bent his will: with the flattering of her lips she forced him to go after her, slowly, (1) as the ox to the slaughter; (2) as a dog to his chains; (3) as a stag with greater swiftness to the place where the arrow pierces him; (4) and lastly, as a bird flying with greater rapidity into the snare.
This arrangement of the passage is made by a comparison of various Versions, the Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, etc. It does not receive the sanction of critics generally.
The paraphrase of good Bishop Patrick is quaint and characteristic: “He made not the least objection, but away he went immediately, and followed her, like a great calf (as we speak in our language) or a stupid ox, that fancies he is led to the pasture when he is going to be killed, or like a fool who takes it for an ornament when the stocks are brought for his correction, to be clapt upon his legs.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22. straightway] “Heb. suddenly,” A.V. and R.V. margins. He…
22. straightway] “Heb. suddenly,” A.V. and R.V. margins. He has been as one hesitating on the brink. Now he takes the sudden plunge. “Here is evidently a stroke in the picture of the profoundest psychological truth.” Lange, Comm.
as a fool to the correction of the stocks] This rendering is reached by transposing the Heb. words fool and stocks. The rendering of R.V. text, as fetters to the correction of the fool, is literal, and is taken to mean, as senselessly and as certainly as the dumb instruments of his punishment dog the steps of the fool. The alternative of R.V. marg., as one in fetters, is admissible in grammar, but loses the point of comparison, viz. his entire oblivion of consequences. The reading of the LXX., ὥσπερ κύων ἐπὶ δεσμούς, “as a dog to his chain,” keeps all three comparisons to animals, and at the same time favours the suggestion that the text is corrupt.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (22) Or as a fool to the correction of…
(22) Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.—This sense is only gained by a transposition of the original. It has been attempted to translate it literally “and as if in fetters to where one corrects fools,” i.e., to prison.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He teeth after her straightway; suddenly, as though, casting…
He teeth after her straightway; suddenly, as though, casting aside all scruples, he gave himself up to the temptation, and with no further delay accompanied her to the house. Septuagint, "He followed, being cajoled ( kepfwyeiv ), ensnared like a silly bird" (see the article on Cepphus Larus, in Erasmus"s "Adag," s.v. "Garrulitas"). As an ox goeth to the slaughter. He no more realizes the serious issue of his action than an irrational beast which, without prevision of the future, walks contentedly to the slaughter house, and is stupidly placid in the face of death. Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. There is some difficulty in the translation of this clause. The Authorized Version, with which Delitzsch virtually agrees, is obtained by transposition of the nouns, the natural rendering of the Hebrew being "as fetters to the correction of a fool." The sense thus obtained is obvious: the youth follows the woman, as a fool or a criminal is led unresisting to confinement and degradation. Doubtless there is some error in the text, as may be seen by comparison of the versions. Septuagint (with which the Syriac agrees), "As a dog to chains, or as a hart struck to the liver with an arrow;" Vulgate, "As a frisking lamb, and not knowing that as a fool he is being dragged to bondage." The commentators are much divided. Fleischer, "As if in fetters to the punishment of the fool," i.e. of himself; Ewald, "As when a steel trap (springs up) for the correction of a fool," i.e. when a hidden trap suddenly catches an incautious person wandering where he has no business. The direct interpretation, that the youth follows the harlot, as fetters the proper punishment of fools, is unsatisfactory, because the parallelism leads us to expect a living being instead of "fetters." We are constrained to fall back on the Authorized Version as exhibiting the best mode of reconstructing a corrupt text. The youth, with his insensate passion, is compared to the madman or idiot who is taken away, unconscious of his fate, to a shameful deprivation of liberty.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain As a fool to the correction of the stocks.
Pro_7:22
As a fool to the correction of the stocks.
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Slaughter of young men
1. We are apt to blame young men for being destroyed, when we ought to blame the influences that destroy them. Society slaughters a great many young men by the behest, You must keep up appearances. Our young men are growing up in a depraved state of commercial ethics, and I want to warn them against being slaughtered on the sharp edges of debt. For the sake of your own happiness, for the sake of your good morals, for the sake of your immortal soul, and for Gods sake, young man, as far as possible keep out of debt.
2. Many young men are slaughtered through irreligion. Take away a young mans religion, and you make him the prey of evil. If you want to destroy a young mans morals take his Bible away. You can do it by caricaturing his reverence for Scripture. Young man, take care of yourself. There is no class of persons that so stirs my sympathies as young men in great cities. Not quite enough salary to live on, and all the temptations that come from that deficit. Unless Almighty God help them they will all go under. Sin pays well neither in this life nor in the next, but right thinking, right believing, and right acting will take you in safety through this life and in transport through the next. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 He went after her suddenly
He went after her suddenly
This seems to imply that the young man took very little time to think about what he should do. AT: "He quickly decided to go after her" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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like an ox going ... into a snare
The naive and unsuspecting way the young man follows the adulteress is compared to the way three animals are unaware of the danger they are in. (See: Simile)
slaughter
This refers to killing an animal in order to eat its meat.
deer
See how you translated this word in Proverbs 5:19.
until an arrow pierces through its liver
This passage implies that a hunter has trapped the deer in order to shoot it with arrows. AT: "until a hunter shoots it in its most important part" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
liver
Here this organ represents a very important part of the deer's body.
it would cost his life
This is a way of saying that this person will die as a result. AT: "it would kill him" or "he would die soon" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
cow
slaughter
bow and arrow
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.