Amsal 7:22-23

7:22 Suddenly he went ¹  after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare ² 

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ³  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ⁴ 

[7:22]  ¹ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

[7:22]  ² tn The present translation follows R. B. Y. Scott (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 64). This third colon of the verse would usually be rendered, “fetters to the chastening of a fool” (KJV, ASV, and NASB are all similar). But there is no support that עֶכֶס (’ekhes) means “fetters.” It appears in Isaiah 3:16 as “anklets.” The parallelism here suggests that some animal imagery is required. Thus the ancient versions have “as a dog to the bonds.”

[7:23]  ³ sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).

[7:23]  ⁴ tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.