Add parallel Print Page Options

23 For the commandment is a lamp,
    and the law is light.
    Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 to keep you from the immoral woman,
    from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue.
25 Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart,
    neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
26 For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
    The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
    and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals,
    and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife.
    Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
30 Men don’t despise a thief
    if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry;
31 but if he is found, he shall restore seven times.
    He shall give all the wealth of his house.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding.
    He who does it destroys his own soul.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor.
    His reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
    He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He won’t regard any ransom,
    neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.

Read full chapter

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,(A)
24 to preserve you from the wife of another,[a]
    from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.[b](B)
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes,(C)
26 for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[c]
    but the wife of another stalks a man’s precious life.(D)
27 Can fire be carried in the bosom
    without burning one’s clothes?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals
    without scorching the feet?
29 So is he who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife;
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.(E)
30 Thieves are not despised who steal only
    to satisfy their appetite when they are hungry.
31 Yet if they are caught, they will pay sevenfold;
    they will forfeit all the goods of their house.(F)
32 But he who commits adultery has no sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.(G)
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,
    and he will show no restraint when he takes revenge.(H)
35 He will accept no compensation
    and will refuse a bribe no matter how great.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 6.24 Gk: MT the evil woman
  2. 6.24 Heb alien woman
  3. 6.26 Cn Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb for because of a harlot to a piece of bread