Proverbs 6:22-32

22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
30 People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.

Proverbs 6:22-32 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.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally it
  • [b]. Literally a man's wife, that is, of another
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.