Lust

27 (A)“You have heard that it was said, (B)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that (C)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (D)If your right eye (E)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into (F)hell. 30 (G)And if your right hand (H)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into (I)hell.

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Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[a](A) 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(B) 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble,(C) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble,(D) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:27 Exodus 20:14

Warnings Against Adultery

20 (A)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    (B)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 (C)Bind them on your heart always;
    (D)tie them around your neck.
22 (E)When you walk, they[a] will lead you;
    (F)when you lie down, they will (G)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is (H)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the (I)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]
    from the smooth tongue of (J)the adulteress.[c]
25 (K)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her (L)eyelashes;
26 for (M)the price of a prostitute is only (N)a loaf of bread,[d]
    but a married woman[e] (O)hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry (P)fire next to his (Q)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one (R)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her (S)will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to (T)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but (U)if he is caught, he will pay (V)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For (W)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when (X)he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
  2. Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
  3. Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
  4. Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
  5. Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(A) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(B)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(C)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(D)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(E)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(F)

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(G)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(H) with another man’s wife;(I)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(J)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(K) has no sense;(L)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never(M) be wiped away.

34 For jealousy(N) arouses a husband’s fury,(O)
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(P)

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