The Way
The Alley at Dusk
Above all else, guard your heart
Story
My son, it's late, so let's go home by this alley. Once, looking out through the lattice of our window, I saw among the simple, among the young men, a young man lacking sense. He was passing along the street near the corner of her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black dark of night.
Then a woman with a crafty heart came out to meet him. She coaxed him with smooth words and whispered that her husband had gone on a long journey and was not at home. At once the young man followed her, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a bird darting into a snare, not knowing it will cost him his life.
My son, do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life. Say to wisdom, You are my sister, and call understanding your close kin. Then wisdom will guard you and keep you from the woman who leads you astray with her words.
Walk this scene on the map →Sayings
Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life.
Say to wisdom, You are my sister, and call understanding your close kin, so that they may keep you from the forbidden woman, from the foreign woman with her smooth words.
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. For many are the victims she has brought down, and all her slain are a mighty throng.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Prov 7:1–27; 4:23
Background
Proverbs 7 is a short story in which a father tells what he saw through the lattice of his window. Houses in ancient Israel had wooden lattices instead of glass, so those inside could see out while those outside could hardly see in. In the very next chapters (8–9), Proverbs portrays another woman calling in the streets: Wisdom.
Pause and Reflect
Where is the dangerous path my heart keeps leaning toward?