Font Size
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
New International Version
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
New International Version
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)
Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
7 My son,(Q) keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;(R)
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(S)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and to insight, “You are my relative.”
5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(T)
6 At the window of my house
I looked down through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.(U)
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight,(V) as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly(W) and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)(X)
13 She took hold of him(Y) and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:(Z)
14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,
and I have food from my fellowship offering(AA) at home.
15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed(AB)
with myrrh,(AC) aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!(AD)
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon.”
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.(AE)
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer[a] stepping into a noose[b](AF)
23 till an arrow pierces(AG) his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.(AH)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:22 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew fool
- Proverbs 7:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
EasyEnglish Bible
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
EasyEnglish Bible
20 My child, obey your father's commands. Do not forget what your mother has taught you. 21 Keep their teaching in your thoughts. Keep it as near to you as a necklace that you wear.
22 Wherever you go in life, their words will be your guide. They will keep you safe while you sleep. When you wake up, they will teach you.
23 Their commands and their teaching are like a lamp that gives you light. When they warn you that you are doing wrong things, that helps you to live well.
24 They will keep you safe from any bad woman, so that the sweet words of an adulteress will not deceive you. 25 Do not keep thinking how beautiful her body is. Do not let her use her eyes like a trap to catch you.
26 If you sleep with a prostitute, that may cost the price of a meal. But if you sleep with another man's wife, you may pay with your life.
27 You cannot carry fire next to your body and not burn your clothes. 28 You cannot walk over hot pieces of coal and not burn your feet. 29 It is the same when a man has sex with another man's wife. Anyone who does that will receive punishment that hurts him.
30 People may excuse someone who steals food because he is hungry.[a] 31 But if someone catches him, he must pay back seven times what he took. He may lose everything that he has in his house.
32 But a man who sleeps with another man's wife is stupid. He is destroying his own life. 33 He deserves his punishment and shame. He will never stop being ashamed.
34 The woman's husband will be jealous, and he will become very angry. He will want the man to receive full punishment. 35 He will not accept any money or bribe to pay the debt, even if it is a lot of money.
More danger![b]
7 My child, remember what I say. Keep my commands in your mind.
2 Obey my commands, so that you live well. Keep my teaching safe. It is as valuable as your own eyes. 3 Keep it always in front of you. Think about my message all the time, as if you have written it on your heart.
4 Love wisdom in the same way that you love your sister. Be very careful to understand what is right. 5 If you do that, it will keep you safe from sin. You will not agree to sleep with an adulteress or a prostitute when she speaks sweet words to you.
The adulteress[c]
6 Once I was looking out through the window of my house. 7 I saw a group of silly young men. One of them was not wise at all. 8 He was walking along the street near the house of a bad woman. 9 It was in the evening after it had become dark. 10 Then the woman came out to meet him! She was wearing the clothes of a prostitute. She knew what she wanted to do.
11 This was a woman who did not respect anyone. She was not ashamed of the bad things that she did. She never stayed at her home. 12 Instead she would stand in the streets and in the market place. She would wait at the corners of the streets to find a man.
13 Now she took hold of the young man and she kissed him. She looked into his eyes without any shame. 14 She said to him, ‘I offered a sacrifice to God today and I have the meat at my home. 15 That is why I came out to meet you. I was looking for you, and now I have found you!
16 I have covered my bed with beautiful blankets and with valuable cloths from Egypt. 17 I have splashed many kinds of perfume on my bed, like myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 18 So come and join me for the night. We can lie in each other's arms. All night, we can enjoy as much sex as we like. 19 My husband is not at home. He has gone away on a long journey. 20 He took a big bag of money with him. He will not come back until later this month.’
21 With those sweet words she deceived the young man. She made him want to be with her. 22 Suddenly he hurried to follow her! He went like an ox that men are leading to its death. He went like a deer that is running towards a trap. 23 Then an arrow will go straight into its body and kill it! The young man was like a bird that is flying into a trap. He did not know that his life was in danger.
24 So listen to me, my sons. Listen carefully to what I am saying. 25 Do not let that kind of woman spoil your mind. Do not let her lead you away from what is right. 26 She has caused many men to fall. Because of her, too many men have thrown away their lives.
27 If you go to her house, you are on the road to death. You will soon be in your grave.
Footnotes
- 6:30 To steal something means to take something that does not belong to you.
- 7:1 In chapters 7-9, Solomon teaches his final lesson to his son. The lesson has three parts.
- 7:6 This is the first part of Solomon's final lesson to his son. It is about a woman who deceives a foolish man. This man is a fool, because he is destroying his life. He does not realize what will happen to him. We can choose to listen to the woman who is ‘Wisdom’ (Chapter 8), or we can choose to listen to the woman who leads us into sin. This is a picture of the decisions that we make in life.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.