Proverbs 7 · Verse 10

Proverbs 7:10

And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
Proverbs 7:10, King James Version

Proverbs 7:10 in other translations

BSBThen a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
WEBBehold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.
ASVAnd, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.
YLTAnd, lo, a woman to meet him--(A harlot's dress, and watchful of heart,
DARBYAnd behold, there met him a woman in the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart.
BBEAnd the woman came out to him, in the dress of a loose woman, with a designing heart;
WebsterAnd behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and subtil of heart.

What does Proverbs 7:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. attire--that of harlots was sometimes peculiar. subtile--or, "wary," "cunning."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 A woman with the attire of a harlot - It appears that sitting in some open place, and covering the face, or having a veil of a peculiar kind on, was the evidence of a harlot, Gen 38:14, Gen 38:15-19. No doubt, in Solomon's time, they had other distinctions. In all other countries, and in all times. the show of their countenance did testify against them; they declared their sin as Sodom; they hid it not. However, this does not seem to have been a mere prostitute; for she was, according to her own declaration, a married woman, and kept house, Pro 7:19, if her assertions relative to this were not falsehoods, and calculated the better to render him secure, and prevent the suspicion of endangering himself by cohabiting with a common woman; which I am rather inclined to think was the case, for she was subtle of heart.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 7:6-27

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…

Read the full comment on Proverbs 7:6-27 →

Proverbs 7:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהִנֵּ֣הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
אִ֭שָּׁה'I.shaha womanH802
לִקְרָאת֑וֹlik.ra.Toto meet himH7122
שִׁ֥יתshit[the] garment ofH7897
ז֝וֹנָ֗הzo.Naha prostituteH2181
וּנְצֻ֥רַתu.ne.Tzu.ratand guarded ofH5341
לֵֽב\׃LevheartH3820

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 7:10

  • 2 Corinthians 11:2-3

    For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

  • Isaiah 3:16-24

    Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, …

  • 1 Timothy 2:9

    In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

  • 2 Kings 9:30

    And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

  • Jeremiah 4:30

    And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

  • Genesis 38:14-15

    And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

  • Isaiah 23:16

    Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

  • 2 Kings 9:22

    And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

  • Revelation 17:3-5

    So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

  • Genesis 3:1

    Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the attire.
Ge 38:14,15; 2Ki 9:22,30; Isa 3:16-24; 23:16; Jer 4:30; 1Ti 2:9
Re 17:3-5
subtil.
Ge 3:1; 2Co 11:2,3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 7:9

    In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:

  • Proverbs 7:10

    And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

  • Proverbs 7:11

    (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

Read all of Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y he aquí, una mujer que le sale al encuentro con atavío de ramera, astuta de corazón,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et voici, une femme vint à sa rencontre, ayant la mise d’une prostituée et le cœur rusé.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und siehe, ein Weib kam ihm entgegen im Anzug einer Hure und mit verstecktem Herzen. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et ecce occurrit illi mulier ornatu meretricio, præparata ad capiendas animas: garrula et vaga,