Proverbs 6:20-35

Warning Depicting the Consequences of Unchastity

v. 20. My son, keep thy father's commandment, the function of parents consisting also in this, that they guide and guard their growing children with reference to the dangers here described, and forsake not the law, the instruction and the precepts, of thy mother.

v. 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, keeping them in loving remembrance, and tie them about thy neck, like a string of precious jewels. The fundamental idea is this, that the entrance of evil thoughts should be prevented by supplying good material for contemplation always, since an idle mind is the devil's workshop.

v. 22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee, that is, the instruction of the parents would be the guide of the growing children; when thou sleepest, even in dreams, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee, the instruction of true wisdom filling the thoughts with proper material and directing all the conduct of a person.

v. 23. For the commandment is a lamp, and the Law is light, its instruction serving not only to enlighten the heart and mind of man, but also to guide him on his way, Psalms 119:105; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life, because they serve for discipline and correction, bidding a person do the right and forsake the wrong, thereby urging him onward on the way of sanctification;

v. 24. to keep thee from the evil woman, the woman of vileness and wantonness, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, the speech of the harlot being smooth and oily in its allurement.

v. 25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart, for the inward unchastity is also sinful and has evil consequences; neither let her take thee with her eyelids, with the wanton and captivating glances with which she tries to ensnare her victims.

v. 26. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread, brought to utter poverty as a result of satisfying her demands, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life, lying in wait to destroy a man's soul, since her victim loses liberty, purity, honor, and dignity by submitting to her advances. It is a most serious matter which is here broached, and therefore the prophet tries to bring home his lesson with proper emphasis.

v. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, attempt to carry it in that manner, and his clothes not be burned?

v. 28. Can one go upon hot coals, upon fiery, glowing coals or cinders, and his feet not be burned? The answer, of course, will be a most emphatic no.

v. 29. So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife, in adulterous intimacy; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent, that is, he shall most assuredly be guilty.

v. 30. Men do not despise a thief, literally, "heap contempt and shame upon him," although they do insist upon his punishment, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry, that is, when only the greatest extremity of hunger causes him to steal in order to get something to eat;

v. 31. but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house, be held responsible for his theft with all that he possesses, even beyond the ordinary four- and fivefold restoration, Exodus 21:36; Exodus 22:1; Luke 19:8.

v. 32. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding, he is deficient both in moral principle and prudence, he risks more than any reasonable man would chance; he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul, it is only the self-destroyer, closely related to the suicide, who would be so foolish, since men judge the adulterer much more harshly.

v. 33. A wound and dishonor shall he get, namely, from the enraged husband and his relatives; and his reproach shall not be wiped away, it is an extreme case of self-defamation.

v. 34. For jealousy is the rage of a man, in this way the wrath of the injured husband burns, with fierce raging; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance, when the facts of the crime become known and have been proved.

v. 35. He will not regard any ransom, with which the guilty man might seek to placate him and keep him from demanding the limit of punishment; neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts, he will not be found willing to forego his strict right of revenge. Such is the warning held before the adulterer, the force of which is by no means spent in our days.