Proverbs 6:27

27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

Proverbs 6:27 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 6:27

Can a man take fire in his bosom
A whore is compared to fire, and is so called by the poets ^F15; and it is a saying of Pythagoras,

``it is a like thing to fall into fire and into a woman ^F16;''

the Hebrew words (va) , "esh", "fire", and (hvya) , "ishah", "a woman", have some affinity in sound; and the phrase of taking it "into the bosom" fitly expresses the impure embraces of a harlot; and his clothes not be burned?
he cannot, it is impossible; and equally vain is it to think that a man can commit whoredom and it not be known, or he not hurt by it in his name and substance, or in his body, soul, and life.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Plauti Bacehides, Act. 4. Sc. 9. v. 15. "Accede ad ignem hunc", Terent. Eunuehus, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 5.
F16 (to eiv pur kai eiv gunaika) , apud Maximum, Eclog. c. 39.

Proverbs 6:27 In-Context

25 Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.

26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

28 Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?

29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.