2.0 KiB
General Information:
These verses continue the "thirty sayings" (Proverbs 22:20).
give me your heart
The word "heart" is a metonym for what a person thinks and decides to do. Possible meanings are 1) "pay careful attention" or 2) "trust me completely." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
let your eyes observe
The eyes are a synecdoche for the whole person. AT: "observe" or "look carefully at" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche)
prostitute ... immoral woman
There are two types of sexually immoral women. The "prostitute" is unmarried, "another man's wife" is married. Together they form a merism for any kind of sexually immoral woman. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-merism)
a prostitute is a deep pit
The word "pit" is a metaphor for what happens to men who sleep with prostitutes. AT: "sleeping with a prostitute is like falling into a deep pit" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
prostitute
Here the word refers to any unmarried woman who engages in sexual activity, not only those who do so for money.
deep pit ... narrow well
These are two places easy to fall into and hard to get out of, the "pit" because it is "deep" and the "well" because it is "narrow."
an immoral woman is a narrow well
Doing evil for which one will be punished is spoken of as falling into a narrow place from which one cannot escape. AT: "Sleeping with another man's wife is like falling into a narrow well" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
well
a hole in the ground that people have dug to get to water
lies in wait
stays hidden, ready to attack when a victim approaches
the treacherous
This nominal adjective can be translated as an adjective or verb. AT: "treacherous people" or "those who harm others by deceiving them" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj)