Daily reading
Proverbs · VII · 13–20
Proverbs 7:13–20 · NLT
XXVII · X · MMXXVI
Key verses · Proverbs 7:13–20 · NLT
14“’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. (NLT)
15You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! (NLT)
19for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. (NLT)
Proverbs 7:13–20 · New Living Translation
13he threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,
14“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.
15You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!
16My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
17I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
19for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.
20He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month.” (NLT)
A note on Scripture quoting
We’ve hit this translation’s public quoting limit for now, so this is a good time to pick up your own Bible and read the rest of the passage.
In short
Yesterday the young man drifted toward her street. Today she makes her pitch, and it's clever. She opens with religion: she's just made her peace offerings, so in her mind everything's square with God. Then flattery: "You're the one I was looking for!" Then the senses: soft blankets, fine linen, perfume. And finally the clincher: her husband is gone and won't be back for weeks. No one will know.
That's how temptation usually talks. It doesn't say "this will wreck you." It says you're special, you deserve this, it's harmless, and there won't be any consequences. Naming those lines for what they are takes a lot of their power away. When something wrong starts sounding reasonable, that's the moment to slow down.
for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. (NLT)
Proverbs 7:19
Try today
Listen for the "no one will know" voice. When you catch yourself thinking a choice is fine because nobody's watching, or because you've earned it, stop and ask one plain question: would I do this if the people I love were standing right here? Let the answer decide.