Proverbs 6:20-35

20 My son, obey the command of your father, and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.

21 Fasten them on your heart forever. Hang them around your neck.

22 When you walk around, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will watch over you. When you wake up, they will talk to you

23 because the command is a lamp, the teachings are a light, and the warnings from discipline are the path of life

24 to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart. Do not let her catch you with her eyes.

26 A prostitute's price is [only] a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts for [your] life itself.

27 Can a man carry fire in his lap without burning his clothes?

28 Can anyone walk on red-hot coals without burning his feet?

29 So it is with a man who has sex with his neighbor's wife. None who touch her will escape punishment.

30 People do not despise a thief who is hungry when he steals to satisfy his appetite,

31 but when he is caught, he has to repay it seven times. He must give up all the possessions in his house.

32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense. Whoever does this destroys himself.

33 An adulterous man will find disease and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be blotted out,

34 because jealousy arouses a husband's fury. The husband will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 No amount of money will change his mind. The largest bribe will not satisfy him.

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.