23 (A)For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 (B)To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 (C)Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For (D)by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
(E)And [a]an adulteress will (F)prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

30 People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
31 Yet when he is found, (G)he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman (H)lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For (I)jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will [b]accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:26 Wife of another, lit. a man’s wife
  2. Proverbs 6:35 Lit. lift up the face of any

23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(A)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(B)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[a]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.(C)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(D)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(E)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[b]
but the wife of another man[c] goes after a precious life.(F)
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.(G)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(H)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(I)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[d] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(J)
33 He will get a beating[e] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(K)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.

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Footnotes

  1. 6:24 LXX reads from a married woman
  2. 6:26 Or On account of a prostitute, one is left with only a loaf of bread
  3. 6:26 Lit but a wife of a man
  4. 6:32 Lit commits adultery with a woman
  5. 6:33 Or plague