Proverbs 7:21
New International Version
With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.

New Living Translation
So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

English Standard Version
With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.

Berean Standard Bible
With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.

King James Bible
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

New King James Version
With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him.

New American Standard Bible
With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

NASB 1995
With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

NASB 1977
With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

Legacy Standard Bible
With her abundant persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she drives him to herself.

Amplified Bible
With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him.

Christian Standard Bible
She seduces him with her persistent pleading; she lures with her flattering talk.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
She seduces him with her persistent pleading; she lures with her flattering talk.

American Standard Version
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.

Contemporary English Version
And so, she tricked him with all of her sweet talk and her flattery.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
With all her seductive charms, she persuades him. With her smooth lips, she makes him give in.

Good News Translation
So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk.

International Standard Version
She leads him astray with great persuasion; with flattering lips she seduces him.

Majority Standard Bible
With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.

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

New Heart English Bible
With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

Webster's Bible Translation
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she impelled him.

World English Bible
With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
She turns him aside with the abundance of her speech, "" She forces him with the flattery of her lips.

Young's Literal Translation
She turneth him aside with the abundance of her speech, With the flattery of her lips she forceth him.

Smith's Literal Translation
With much of her talking she caused him to turn aside; with the smoothness of her lips she will thrust him away.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
She entangled him with many words, and drew him away with the flattery of her lips.

Catholic Public Domain Version
She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips.

New American Bible
She wins him over by repeated urging, with her smooth lips she leads him astray.

New Revised Standard Version
With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
With much fair speech she misled him, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And she deceived him with the multitude of her words; in the flattery of her lips unto him, she enticed him.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield, With the blandishment of her lips she enticeth him away.

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

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Warnings about the Adulteress
20He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.” 21With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him. 22He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,…

Cross References
Proverbs 5:3-4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, / in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.

Proverbs 6:24
to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

Proverbs 2:16-19
It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words / who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. / For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ...

Proverbs 9:13-18
The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. / She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, / calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. ...

Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

Proverbs 23:27-28
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. / Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.

Judges 16:15-17
“How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!” / Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death, / Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”

Genesis 39:7-12
and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” / But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. / No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” ...

2 Samuel 11:2-4
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. / So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” / Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.

Jeremiah 3:6-10
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ...

Ezekiel 16:30-34
How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute! / But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. / You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband! ...

Matthew 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

Mark 7:21-23
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, / greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. / All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

Romans 1:24-27
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. / They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. / For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ...


Treasury of Scripture

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

with her

Proverbs 7:5
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

Proverbs 5:3
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

Judges 16:15-17
And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth

forced

1 Samuel 28:23
But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.

2 Kings 4:8
And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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Astray Beguiled Caused Causeth Constrained Entices Enticeth Fair Flattering Flattery Forced Forceth Forcing Impelled Led Overcame Persuades Persuasive Seduced Seduces Seductive Smooth Smoothness Speech Talk Turneth Words Yield
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Astray Beguiled Caused Causeth Constrained Entices Enticeth Fair Flattering Flattery Forced Forceth Forcing Impelled Led Overcame Persuades Persuasive Seduced Seduces Seductive Smooth Smoothness Speech Talk Turneth Words Yield
Proverbs 7
1. Solomon persuades to a sincere and kind familiarity with wisdom
6. In an example of his own experience he shows
10. the cunning of a harlot
22. and the desperate simplicity of a young wanton
24. He detests such wickedness














With her great persuasion
This phrase highlights the power of influence and the subtlety of temptation. The Hebrew root for "persuasion" is "לָקַח" (laqach), which means to take, seize, or capture. In the context of Proverbs, it underscores the idea that temptation often comes with a compelling force that can capture one's attention and lead them astray. Historically, the wisdom literature of the Bible often warns against the seductive power of sin, which can be as persuasive as a skilled orator. This serves as a reminder to be vigilant and discerning, recognizing that not all that is persuasive is beneficial or righteous.

she entices him
The word "entices" comes from the Hebrew "נָדַח" (nadach), meaning to lead astray or seduce. This term is often used in the context of leading someone away from the right path. In the biblical narrative, enticement is frequently associated with moral and spiritual deviation. The historical context of Proverbs is one where wisdom is personified as a woman calling out to the simple, while folly is also personified, seeking to lead people astray. This duality emphasizes the constant battle between wisdom and folly, righteousness and sin.

with her flattering lips
"Flattering lips" refers to speech that is smooth and deceitful. The Hebrew word for "flattering" is "חָלַק" (chalaq), which means to be smooth or slippery. This imagery suggests that flattery can be dangerous, as it often masks true intentions and can lead to one's downfall. In the ancient Near Eastern culture, speech was a powerful tool, and the ability to speak persuasively was highly valued. However, Proverbs warns that such speech, when used deceitfully, can be a trap. The scriptural context reminds believers to be wary of those who use smooth words to manipulate or deceive.

she lures him
The term "lures" is derived from the Hebrew "דָּחָה" (dachah), which means to push or drive away. This word choice indicates a forceful action, suggesting that the seduction is not passive but active and intentional. In the broader biblical context, this reflects the nature of sin as something that actively seeks to draw individuals away from God. The historical context of Proverbs, with its emphasis on moral instruction, serves as a warning to the faithful to remain steadfast and not be swayed by the allure of sin, which often comes disguised as something desirable.

Verse 21. - Thus far we have had the adulteress introduced speaking; now the narrative proceeds. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield. First, she influenced his mind, and bent his will to her purpose by her evil eloquence. The Hebrew word means "doctrine, or learning" - devil's pleading (Proverbs 1:5; Proverbs 9:9). St. Jerome has irretivit, "she netted him;" Septuagint, "She caused him to go astray (ἀπεπλάνησε) by much converse." She talked him over, though indeed he had put himself in the way of temptation, and had now no power to resist her seductions. Then with the flattering of her lips she forced him; drew him away. His body followed the lead of his blinded mind; he acceded to her solicitations. Septuagint, "With the snares of her lips she ran him aground (ἐξώκειλε), drove him headlong to ruin."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
With her great
בְּרֹ֣ב (bə·rōḇ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7230: Multitude, abundance, greatness

persuasion
לִקְחָ֑הּ (liq·ḥāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3948: Something received, instruction, inveiglement

she entices him;
הִ֭טַּתּוּ (hiṭ·ṭat·tū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend

she lures him
תַּדִּיחֶֽנּוּ׃ (tad·dî·ḥen·nū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5080: To impel, thrust, banish

with her flattering
בְּחֵ֥לֶק (bə·ḥê·leq)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2506: Portion, tract, territory

lips.
שְׂ֝פָתֶ֗יהָ (p̄ā·ṯe·hā)
Noun - fdc | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8193: The lip, language, a margin


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 7:21 With persuasive words she led him astray (Prov. Pro Pr)
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