Proverbios 30:20

20 Tal es el rastro de la mujer adúltera, come, y limpia su boca, y dice: No he hecho maldad

Proverbios 30:20 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 30:20

Such [is] the way of an adulterous woman
It is equally unknown as the way of a man with a maid; it is difficult to detect her, she takes so much care and caution, and uses so many artful methods to conceal her wickedness from her husband; though she lives in adultery, it is in a most private manner, and carried on so secretly and artfully that she is not easily discovered; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth;
like one that eats what he should not, wipes his mouth that it might not be known or suspected he had ate anything; so such an adulteress commits the sin of adultery; and when she has done looks as grave and demure, and carries it so to her husband and all her friends, as if she was the chastest person upon earth. The allusion may be to harlots, who after an impure congress used to wash themselves ^F1, and had servants to wait upon them and serve them with water, called from hence "aquarioli" ^F2; and saith, I have done no wickedness;
she says by her behaviour, by her demure looks; and if suspected and challenged with it utterly denies it. This is an emblem of the antichristian whore of Rome, who, though the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth; though guilty of the foulest adultery, that is, the grossest idolatry, yet pretends to be the pure and chaste spouse of Christ; and, under the guise of purity and holiness, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, seduces the minds of many; see ( Revelation 17:1 Revelation 17:5 ) ( 2 Thessalonians 2:10 2 Thessalonians 2:11 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Dedecus hoc sumpta dissimulavit aqua", Ovid. Amor. l. 3. Eleg. 6. in fine.
F2 Tertull. Apolog. c. 43. Vid. Turnebi Adversar. l. 14. c. 12.

Proverbios 30:20 In-Context

18 Tres cosas me son ocultas; aun tampoco sé la cuarta

19 El rastro del águila en el aire; el rastro de la culebra sobre la peña; el rastro de la nave en medio del mar; y el rastro del hombre en la doncella

20 Tal es el rastro de la mujer adúltera, come, y limpia su boca, y dice: No he hecho maldad

21 Por tres cosas se alborota la tierra, y la cuarta no puede sufrir

22 Por el siervo cuando reinare; y por el loco cuando se saciare de pan