Proverbs 7:23

Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. TILL A DART STRIKE THROUGH HIS LIVER; AS A BIRD HASTETH TO THE SNARE, AND KNOWETH NOT THAT IT (IS) FOR HIS LIFE. He knoweth not that his following her is at the cost of the present and eternal life. The "dart" of the husband, the magistrate, Satan, and, above all, God (), strikes the youth in body, in resources, in reputation, and, worst of all, in soul. The "liver" is mentioned as a vital part (). 'It is the seat of love; where, therefore, the youth sinned by love, there he is transfixed with pain' (Gejer)....

6-27 Here is an affecting example of the danger of youthful lusts. It is a history or a parable of the most instructive kind. Will any one dare to venture on temptations that lead to impurity, after Solomon has set before his eyes in so lively and plain a manner, the danger of even going near them? Then is he as the man who would dance on the edge of a lofty rock, when he has just seen another fall headlong from the same place. The misery of self-ruined sinners began in disregard to God's blessed commands. We ought daily to pray that we may be kept from running into temptation, else we invite the enemies of our souls to spread snares for us. Ever avoid the neighbourhood of vice. Beware of sins which are said to be pleasant sins. They are the more dangerous, because they most easily gain the heart, and close it against repentance. Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it....

The first clause does not connect itself very clearly with the foregoing, and is probably affected by the corrupt text which makes it perplexing....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 7:1 13. _Thirteenth admonitory discourse, _containing a warning against adultery, treated under a different aspect from previous exhortations, and strengthened by an example. In this chapter and the following a contrast is drawn between the adulteress and Wisdom. PROVERBS 7:1 MY SON, KEEP MY WORDS. The teacher enjoins his pupil, as in Proverbs 2:1, to observe the rules which he gives. Lay up, as a precious treasure (see on Proverbs 2:1 and Proverbs 2:7

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, Lamentations 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;'' 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 af

CHAPTER 7 The entire chapter is a continuation of the strange woman and the warning against her. The Word and the law of the Lord will keep the obedient son from her. If Solomon had obeyed the Word of God, not to multiply wives (Deuteronomy 17:17) his end would not have been spent in the degrading fellowship with the harlots of other nations. The description is very graphic. What the word pictures is as prominent in the great centers of Christendom as it was thousands of years ago in Babylon and Egypt. And so it is still true: _ She hath cast down many wounded;_ Yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, Going down to the chambers of death. But think of Solomon after having received these inspired descriptions and warnings, that he should have been forgetful of them all....

The longest and most elaborate description of the adulteress, the fate of her victim, and the value of wisdom as a safeguard. PROVERBS 7:1. General advice to the young man to observe the commandments and the torah of the sage, that he may be preserved from the adulteress. PROVERBS 7:3 B. _cf._ 2 Corinthians 3:3, and for the opposite thought Jeremiah 17:1. Proverbs 7:4. kinswoman: lit. one well known, familiar friend, only in Ruth 2:1;...

LIFE. soul. Hebrew. _nephesh._ App-13....

_dart_ Rather, ARROW, R.V.; sagitta, Vulg. The LXX. have ἢ ὡς ἔλαφος τοξεύματι πεπληγὼς εἰς τὸ ἧπαρ....

HE GOETH AFTER HER STRAIGHTWAY, &C.— Dr. Grey renders these verses 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 hasteth,_ &c. Here are four similes, says he; the ox, the dog, the deer, the bird; each of them aptly resembling the case of a youth seduced by an adulterous woman, and hastening to ruin without fear or thought. The circumstance of the dart as applied to the deer, is beautiful and proper, which otherwise we are at a loss to dispose of. The LXX and Syriac read, _As a dog to the chains, or as a stag pierced through his liver with a dart._ Houbigant. _As a stag runneth leaping along, till a dart pierce through its liver._ See his note....