Proverbs 7:8

7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner,

making his way along the road to her house

Proverbs 9:15

9:15 calling out to those who are passing by her in the way,

who go straight on their way.


tn The verb צָעַד (tsaad) means “to step; to march.” It suggests that the youth was intentionally making his way to her house. The verb is the imperfect tense; it stresses continual action parallel to the active participle that began the verse, but within a context that is past time.

tn Heb “way of her house.” This expression uses an adverbial accusative of location, telling where he was marching along. The term “house” is the genitive of location, giving the goal.

tn The infinitive construct “calling out” functions epexegetically in the sentence, explaining how the previous action was accomplished.

tn The term “her” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

tn The noun is a genitive of location after the construct participle. Its parallel word is also an adverbial accusative of location.

tn The participle modifies the participle in the first colon. To describe the passers-by in this context as those “who go straight” means that they are quiet and unwary.