Proverbs 6:20-35

20 ¹My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21 ²Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

22 When you ³walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23 For ⁴the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24 To ⁵keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25 ⁶Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her ⁷eyelids.

26 For ⁸on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress * ⁹hunts for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

29 So is the one who ¹⁰goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her ¹¹will not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals To ¹²satisfy himself when he is hungry;

31 But when he is found, he must ¹³repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house.

32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is ¹⁴lacking sense; He who would ¹⁵destroy himself does it.

33 Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out.

34 For ¹⁶jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the ¹⁷day of vengeance.

35 He will not accept * any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.

Proverbs 6:20-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 6

In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery. Suretyship is described, Pr 6:1; and represented as a snare and a net, in which men are taken, Pr 6:2; and advice is given what to do in such a case, for safety in it, and deliverance from it, Pr 6:3-5; The sin of slothfulness is exposed, by observing the industry of the ant, Pr 6:6-8; by expostulating with the sluggard for his continuance in sloth, and by mimicking him, Pr 6:9,10; and by the poverty it brings upon him, Pr 6:11. Then a naughty wicked man is described, by his mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and heart, whose ruin is sudden and inevitable, Pr 6:11-15. The seven things hateful to God are particularly named, Pr 6:16-19. And next the exhortation in some preceding chapters is reassumed, to attend to the instructions of parents; which will be found ornamental, pleasant, and useful, Pr 6:20-23. Especially to preserve from the lewd woman cautioned against, Pr 6:24,25; whose company is dissuaded from; on account of the extreme poverty and distress she brings persons to, and even danger of life, Pr 6:26; from the unavoidable ruin such come into, Pr 6:27-29; from the sin of uncleanness being greater than that of theft, Pr 6:30,31; from the folly the adulterer betrays; from the destruction of his soul, and the disgrace he brings on himself, Pr 6:32,33; and from the rage and irreconcilable offence of the husband of the adulteress, Pr 6:34,35.

Cross References

• 1. Ephesians 6:1
• 2. Proverbs 3:3
• 3. Proverbs 3:23
• 4. Psalms 19:8; Psalms 119:105
• 5. Proverbs 5:3; Proverbs 7:5, 21
• 6. Matthew 5:28
• 7. 2 Kings 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40
• 8. Proverbs 5:9, 10; Proverbs 29:3
• 9. Proverbs 7:23; Ezekiel 13:18
• 10. Ezekiel 18:6; Ezekiel 33:26
• 11. Proverbs 16:5
• 12. Job 38:39
• 13. Exodus 22:1-4
• 14. Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 9:4, 16; Proverbs 10:13, 21; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 12:11
• 15. Proverbs 7:22, 23
• 16. Proverbs 27:4; Song of Songs 8:6
• 17. Proverbs 11:4

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "law"
• [b]. Lit "she"
• [c]. Lit "she"
• [d]. Lit "she"
• [e]. Or "law"
• [f]. Lit "foreign woman"
• [g]. Lit "a man's wife"
• [h]. Lit "snatch up"
• [i]. Lit "be innocent"
• [j]. Lit "They do not;" or "Do not men...?"
• [k]. Lit "his soul"
• [l]. Or "wealth"
• [m]. Lit "heart"
• [n]. Lit "his soul"
• [o]. Lit "is the rage of"
• [p]. Lit "lift up the face of any"
• [q]. Lit "willing"
• [r]. Or "bribes"