Bible Strands
Proverbs 7:8
crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wise narrator addresses a young man lacking judgment, describing his movements as twilight fades into night. The observation occurs in a public thoroughfare near a woman’s residence.
The words — The Hebrew verb עֹבֵר ('o.Ver) literally means "[who] was passing by," while יִצְעָד (yitz.'Ad) translates to "he strode" or walked with long steps. These terms emphasize the deliberate, unhurried pace of the young man's approach.
The thread — Similar patterns of casual walking in vulnerable locations appear in Judges 16:1, where Samson visits a prostitute in Gaza during the day, and 2 Samuel 11:2, where David strolls on his palace roof at evening. Proverbs 4:14 explicitly warns against walking on the path of the wicked.
Why it lands — The text shows how ordinary exposure to dangerous places precedes moral failure. It asks readers to recognize that routine movements can mask spiritual vulnerability and requires deliberate avoidance of those routes.
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
Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
Cross-references
- Judges 16:1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
- 2 Samuel 11:2 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.
- Proverbs 4:14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
- Proverbs 5:8 Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
- Proverbs 7:12 Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
- 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
- 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- Jude 1:23 save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.