The title given to chapter 7 in the NIV does not really differ from that which begins both 5:1 and 6:20. The present chapter, by its vivid description of the “adulteress,” makes the admonition very concrete. The structure is quite symmetrical. In verses 1–5, the sage opens with the familiar exhortation to listen and obey (cf. 2:1; 3:1) and resumes this style at the end (v. 24) when he draws his conclusion from the episode related in verses 7–23. This episode is an example story that describes a typical event. Though based on experience, the conversation in verses 14–20 is also a literary creation.

7:1–5 The opening exhortation of the sage is in the style of previous addresses to my son. The apple of your eye (cf. Deut. 32:10; Ps. 17:8) is the image of what appears in the pupil (lit. the l…