Font Size
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
English Standard Version
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
English Standard Version
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.
Warning Against the Adulteress
7 (Y)My son, keep my words
and (Z)treasure up my commandments with you;
2 (AA)keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as (AB)the apple of your eye;
3 (AC)bind them on your fingers;
(AD)write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from (AE)the forbidden[f] woman,
from (AF)the adulteress[g] with her smooth words.
6 For at (AG)the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among (AH)the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man (AI)lacking sense,
8 passing along the street (AJ)near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in (AK)the twilight, in the evening,
at (AL)the time of night and darkness.
10 And behold, the woman meets him,
(AM)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[h]
11 She is (AN)loud and (AO)wayward;
(AP)her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
and (AQ)at every corner she (AR)lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
and with (AS)bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to (AT)offer sacrifices,[i]
and today I have (AU)paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (AV)coverings,
colored linens from (AW)Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with (AX)myrrh,
aloes, and (AY)cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For (AZ)my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with (BA)her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[j]
23 till an arrow pierces its liver;
as (BB)a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 And (BC)now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are (BD)a mighty throng.
27 Her house is (BE)the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
- 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 7:5 Hebrew strange
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
- Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart
- Proverbs 7:14 Hebrew peace offerings
- Proverbs 7:22 Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as a chain to discipline a fool
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.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.