Mishle 6:20-35

20 Beni (my son), keep the mitzvat Avicha, and forsake not the torat Immecha;

21 Bind them tamid (continually) upon thine lev, and tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou goest, it shall guide thee; when thou sleepest, it shall be shomer over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the mitzvah is a ner (lamp); and torah an ohr; and tokhakhot musar (reproofs of discipline) are the Derech Chayyim (Life Lane);

24 To be shomer over thee, keeping thee from the eshet rah, from the smooth lashon of the nokhriyah (strange woman).

25 Lust not after her beauty in thine lev; neither let her allure thee with her eyelids.

26 For by means of an isha zonah a man is reduced to a kikar lechem; and [another] man’s wife will prey on the nefesh yekara (precious soul).

27 Can a man take eish in his kheyk, and his clothes not be burned?

28 Can one walk upon hot coals, and his regel not be burned?

29 So is he that goeth into his eshet re’a; whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a ganav if he steal to satisfy his nefesh when he is starving;

31 But if he be found out, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give hon (substance, wealth) of his bais;

32 But the no’ef (one who committeth adultery) with an isha lacketh lev [of understanding]; he that doeth it destroyeth his own nefesh.

33 A nega [see Isaiah 53:8 for Moshiach’s nega taken for unfaithful Israel] and dishonor shall he get; and his cherpah (reproach) shall not be wiped away.

34 For kina (jealousy) is the chamat gever (husband’s rage); therefore he will not spare in the yom nakam (day of vengeance).

35 He will not regard kofer (compensation); neither will he be the appeased, though shochad (bribe) be great.

Mishle 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.