Proverbs 7:14 kjv

I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.

Proverbs 7:14 nkjv

"I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

Proverbs 7:14 niv

"Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home.

Proverbs 7:14 esv

"I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows;

Proverbs 7:14 nlt

"I've just made my peace offerings
and fulfilled my vows.

Proverbs 7 verses

Proverbs 7 14 Meaning

Proverbs 7:14 describes the seduction technique of the adulterous woman, who states: "I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows." Her declaration is a calculated deception, aimed at lulling her target into a false sense of security and righteousness. By claiming to have just fulfilled significant religious duties – offering peace sacrifices and paying vows – she presents herself as a pious, God-fearing individual. This facade of spiritual purity serves to camouflage her wicked intentions and creates an ironic pretext for sin. It suggests she is clean and available, and possibly has a celebratory feast from the offerings, thus turning sacred religious practices into tools for unholy indulgence.

Proverbs 7 14 Context

Proverbs chapter 7 is a vivid and dramatic warning against the seductive power of the adulterous woman. The entire chapter serves as an extended parental instruction from a father to his son, urging him to cling to wisdom and avoid the path of folly, which is personified by the "forbidden woman" or "foreign woman" (often a term for an immoral woman). Verse 14 is part of her elaborate and deceitful speech, where she actively entices the naive young man.

In ancient Israel, peace offerings (zevahim shlamim) were sacrifices brought voluntarily to the LORD for various reasons, including thanksgiving, a freewill offering, or the fulfillment of a vow (Lev 7:16). A unique aspect of the peace offering was that, after certain portions were offered to God, the priest, and the attending Levites, the offeror and his family, friends, and sometimes the poor would partake of the meat as a communal meal. This meal was a joyful occasion, a celebratory fellowship with God and fellow worshippers. Thus, the woman's claim implies she is ritually clean, blessed by God, and possesses abundant consecrated meat for a feast.Vows (nedarim) were solemn promises made to God, which were binding and whose fulfillment was a serious religious duty (Num 30:2; Deut 23:21). To state that one had just "paid my vows" conveyed an image of piety and spiritual diligence.

Within this context, the woman's words are profoundly ironic and manipulative. She uses the very acts of piety and spiritual devotion—meant for communion with God and demonstrating faithfulness—as a guise for leading the young man into deep sin. She profanes the sacred to achieve her illicit aims, presenting her actions as justifiable or even divinely sanctioned, inviting him to partake in her "peace" that ultimately leads to destruction.

Word Analysis

• "I have peace offerings with me":

  • "peace offerings" (Hebrew: zivchei shlamim): These were sacrifices of fellowship, wholeness, or well-being. The Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace," is embedded in shlamim, implying completeness, health, prosperity. These offerings symbolized communion with God and were often followed by a shared feast from the consecrated meat. The woman's claim suggests she is ritually clean and has surplus, blessed food available for a celebratory meal, which she is implicitly offering to the young man. It twists a sacred communal meal into a lure for an illicit private act.
  • "with me" (Hebrew: 'alai): This preposition indicates proximity, presence, or even responsibility "upon" her. It implies that she has just performed these sacrifices or is still in the state of their blessing, suggesting a freshness and availability of the associated celebratory meal. It further supports her guise of recent religious purity.

• "this day have I paid my vows":

  • "this day" (Hebrew: hayyom): This stresses the immediacy and freshness of her supposed piety. It implies the current availability of the offering's feast and also her newfound "cleanliness," making her proposition timely and ostensibly guilt-free.
  • "paid" (Hebrew: shillamti from shalem): This verb means "to make complete," "to repay," or "to fulfill." The irony is profound. While she has ostensibly fulfilled her vows (making her complete in terms of religious duty), she immediately proceeds to an act that leads to moral brokenness and spiritual emptiness for both herself and her victim. Her outward "completeness" covers an inner decay.
  • "my vows" (Hebrew: nedarai): These were serious, voluntary commitments made to God, typically expressing gratitude or requesting favor. Fulfilling them was a sign of devotion. By stating she has "paid my vows," she seeks to establish her spiritual bona fides, creating a facade of piety and moral trustworthiness to lower the young man's defenses. She exploits a genuine sign of faith to facilitate unfaithfulness.

• Words-group Analysis:The combined effect of "peace offerings" and "paid my vows" establishes a dual claim of ritual purity and spiritual diligence. In her manipulative narrative, having performed these acts would mean she is ritually clean and worthy before God. It offers a twisted sense of divine approval for her subsequent actions. The phrase also implies she has a surplus of consecrated food from the offering, suitable for a shared feast. This combination turns a deeply religious occasion, meant for communion with the Divine, into a cynical justification and invitation for grave sin, demonstrating her profound hypocrisy and defilement of the sacred.

Proverbs 7 14 Commentary

Proverbs 7:14 serves as a chilling example of religious hypocrisy, where outward piety is leveraged as a tool for temptation and sin. The adulterous woman, personifying Folly, cynically cloaks her predatory intentions in spiritual garments. Her claims of recent peace offerings and fulfilled vows aim to present her as morally sound and divinely favored, perhaps even suggesting a sanctified opportunity for pleasure, or at the least, dispelling any suspicion of ritual impurity. This deceptive strategy aims to disarm her prey, implying that God would approve or, at minimum, tolerate her proposition given her recent religious diligence. It subtly offers a pseudo-sacred validation for transgression. This verse starkly warns against the seductive power of superficial religiosity and the dangerous allure of those who outwardly conform to sacred rituals while inwardly harboring corruption. The ultimate consequence for succumbing to such deception is moral decay and spiritual death, illustrating that mere adherence to religious forms without genuine heart devotion is not only valueless but can become a vehicle for greater wickedness.

Bonus Section

• The Lure of the Feast: The reference to "peace offerings" inherently implies food, specifically meat. In a culture where meat was often reserved for special occasions or religious feasts, this would be an attractive offer to the young man. She wasn't just offering herself, but also a celebratory meal, which further normalizes the illicit encounter within a socially acceptable, even "blessed," context.
• A "Clear Conscience" for Sin: By presenting herself as one who has "paid her vows" and made "peace offerings," the woman ironically signals that she has a "clear conscience" or has fulfilled her religious obligations, implying a false spiritual freedom that allows for immediate self-indulgence. This perverts the true meaning of atonement and peace with God.
• Perversion of Intimacy: Peace offerings facilitated communion with God and the community. The harlot takes this sacred context of true "peace" and communal intimacy with God, and perverts it into an invitation for unholy physical intimacy outside God's covenant.