Bible Strands
Proverbs 7:22
He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses a young man, describing the immediate moment after a seductress has used flattering speech to lure him into moral compromise.
The words — The text employs הוֹלֵךְ (ho.lekh), meaning "walking" or "going," alongside פִּתְאֹם (pit.ʾom), meaning "suddenly" or "on impulse," to capture the man's unthinking forward movement.
The thread — This pattern of blind pursuit toward harm appears in Job 13:27, where divine restraint is described, and Jeremiah 20:2, where physical stocks are used, while the sacrificial animal imagery resonates with the ritual bulls prepared in Acts 14:13.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that unexamined desire operates without awareness of lethal consequences, requiring deliberate pause before action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Cross-references
- Job 13:27 You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet.
- Jeremiah 20:2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
- Acts 14:13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
- Acts 16:24 On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.