Proverbs 6:23-35
English Standard Version
23 For the commandment is (A)a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the (B)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[a]
from the smooth tongue of (C)the adulteress.[b]
25 (D)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her (E)eyelashes;
26 for (F)the price of a prostitute is only (G)a loaf of bread,[c]
but a married woman[d] (H)hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry (I)fire next to his (J)chest
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one (K)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 (L)will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to (M)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but (N)if he is caught, he will pay (O)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 (P)jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when (Q)he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
- Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
- Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
- Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife
Proverbs 6:23-35
Common English Bible
23 The commandment is a lamp and instruction a light;
corrective teaching is the path of life.
24 They guard you from the evil woman,
from the flattering tongue of the foreign woman.
25 Don’t desire her beauty in secret;
don’t let her take you in with her eyelashes,
26 for a prostitute costs a loaf of bread,[a]
but a married woman hunts for a man’s very life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
and his clothes not get burned?
28 If a man walks on hot coals,
don’t his feet get burned?
29 So is the man who approaches his neighbor’s wife;
anyone who touches her will be punished.
30 People don’t despise a thief if he steals
to fill his starving stomach.
31 But if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold;
he must give all the riches of his house.
32 He who commits adultery is senseless.
Doing so, he destroys himself.
33 He is wounded and disgraced.
His shame will never be wiped away.
34 Jealousy makes a man rage;
he’ll show no mercy on his day of revenge.
35 He won’t accept compensation;
he’ll refuse even a large bribe.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:26 Heb uncertain
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible