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She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner.
Proverbs 7:12 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.
  • KJV Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
  • BSB Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
  • NKJV At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.
  • NLT She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

She roams the streets and squares, lying in wait at every corner. She actively prowls for victims.

Overview

Ever on the move through public places, she lurks to ambush the unwary. Her hunting posture shows that temptation often seeks us out rather than waiting passively. The imagery underscores the deliberate, predatory nature of sin's enticement.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Prov 23:28Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
  • Prov 9:14She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
  • Rev 18:3For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
  • Jer 2:36Why do you go about so much to change your ways? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria.
  • Ezek 16:31in that you build your vaulted place at the head of every way, and make your lofty place in every street, and have not been as a prostitute, in that you scorn pay.
  • Jer 2:20“For long ago I broke off your yoke, and burst your bonds. You said, ‘I will not serve;’ for on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed yourself, playing the prostitute.
  • Ezek 16:24–25“that you have built for yourselves a vaulted place, and have made yourselves a lofty place in every street.
  • Jer 3:2“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
  • Jer 2:33How well you prepare your way to seek love! Therefore you have even taught the wicked women your ways.
  • Rev 18:23The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 7:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.

How Proverbs 7:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.