Proverbs 6:20-35

20 My son, observe thy father's commandment, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

21 bind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about thy neck:

22 when thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24 to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids;

26 for by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a loaf of bread, and another's wife doth hunt for the precious soul.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?

28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?

29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife: whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

30 They do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry:

31 and if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

32 Whoso committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33 A wound and contempt shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34 For jealousy is the rage of a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance;

35 he will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content though thou multipliest [thy] 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'discipline.'
• [b]. Lit. 'smoothness:' see ch. 7.5,21.
• [c]. Or 'senseless:' strictly, 'lacking heart,' and so often.
• [d]. Geber: see Job 3.3.