7:12a

Now in the street, now in the squares: Instead of staying at home, the woman spends some of her time in the street and some in the public squares. The New Living Translation (2004) expresses this as:

She is often in the streets and markets. (New Living Translation (2004))

For the meaning of the words translated as street and squares, see the notes on 1:20–21 and 1:20a–b. Both words indicate places where people could be found, and where they gathered for meetings or to do marketing.

7:12b

she lurks at every corner: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lurks (New Revised Standard Version has “lies in wait”) is often used literally to refer to waiting in ambush. See the note on “lie in wait for” in 1:11b–c. Here the word is used figuratively to refer to the way that the woman waits on street corners in order to seduce men. Other ways to translate this idea are:

• Use another expression that refers to ambushing or catching men. For example:

waiting to trap a man (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
she lies in wait (New Revised Standard Version)

• Use a simile. For example:

waiting…as if to ambush men

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

soliciting at every corner (New Living Translation (2004))

If it is necessary to translate without using a figure of speech, it is suggested that you add a footnote that says something like this:

What it literally says in Hebrew is: “she waits in ambush by every corner.” What it means is that the man whom she seduces will be as if caught in a trap and will lose his life (see 7:22–23).

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