Matthew 5:28(v25)but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
James 1:14-15(v25)But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when…
2 Kings 9:30(v25)When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window.
Proverbs 2:16(v24)to deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,
Proverbs 5:3(v24)For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
Show all 35 cross-references
Proverbs 7:5(v24)that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
Ecclesiastes 7:26(v24)I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her;…
Job 31:9-12(v27)“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door, then let my wife grind for another, and let others…
Luke 15:30(v26)But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
Proverbs 29:3(v26)Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
Hosea 7:4-7(v27)They are all adulterers. They are burning like an oven that the baker stops stirring, from the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened.…
1 Corinthians 7:1(v29)Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
James 3:5(v27)So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!
Genesis 39:14(v26)she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “Behold, he has brought a Hebrew in to us to mock us. He came in to me to…
Leviticus 20:10(v29)“ ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the…
1 Samuel 2:36(v26)It will happen that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will…
2 Samuel 11:2-5(v25)At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was…
2 Samuel 12:9-10(v29)Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have…
Ezekiel 22:11(v29)One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has humbled his…
Malachi 3:5(v29)I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the…
Genesis 12:18-19(v29)Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She…
Genesis 26:10-11(v29)Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought…
2 Samuel 11:3-4(v29)David sent and inquired after the woman. One said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, Uriah the Hittite’s wife?” David sent…
2 Samuel 16:21(v29)Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines that he has left to keep the house. Then all Israel will hear that you are…
Proverbs 5:10(v26)lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man’s house.
Proverbs 7:23(v26)Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.
Proverbs 16:5(v29)Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh: they shall certainly not be unpunished.
Proverbs 29:8(v26)Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger.
Jeremiah 5:8-9(v29)They were as fed horses roaming at large. Everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife. Shouldn’t I punish them for these things?” says…
Ezekiel 13:8(v26)“ ‘Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you,” says the Lord…
Ezekiel 13:18(v26)and say, “The Lord Yahweh says: ‘Woe to the women who sew pillows on all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every…
Luke 15:13-15(v26)Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with…
Genesis 20:4-7(v29)Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation? Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister’? She,…
Song of Solomon 4:9(v25)You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.
Isaiah 3:16(v25)Moreover Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are arrogant, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv25, 27With her wanton looks and gesture.
With her wanton looks and gesture.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv24–29Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman,…
Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Ver. 24. To keep thee from the evil woman.] Heb., From the woman of evil, that is wholly given up to wickedness, - as Aaron saith of the people, {Exo 32:22} and as Plautus, In fermenlo tota iacet uxor. In this sense Antichrist is called "the man of sin." {2Th 2:3}
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From the flattery of the tongue.] This is the proper effect of God’s word, hid in the heart, as an amulet. Bellerophon and other heathens, without this preservative, abstained from adultery, either for love of praise, or fear of punishment, or opinion of merit. But this was not properly chastity, but continence, which kept them from the outward act, sed non sine dolore - not without inward lustings and hankerings after strange flesh. Vellem, si non essem imperator, said Scipio, when a fair harlot was offered to him; I would if I were not a general.
Of a strange woman.] Filthiness, as also swearing and drunkenness, in a woman is most abominable. Hence, among other reasons, saith one, the whorish woman is called "the strange woman."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv24, 25, 26, 27, 29This is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s…
This is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s word, because neither worldly discretion, nor civil education, nor moral precepts, nor any other considerations, are sufficient preservatives against this lust, as is manifest from daily experience.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv24–29Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do…
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do not look upon it with the eye, nor dwell upon it in the thought; the one will lead on to and kindle last in the heart, and the other will cherish it and blow it up into a flame; and lust thus conceived and nourished in the heart is no other than committing adultery, Mat 5:28;
neither let her take thee with her eyelids; let her not take thee from instruction with them, so Aben Ezra, from attending to that; or let her not take thy wisdom from thee, so Jarchi; or rather let her not take thee as in a net, with the sparkling of her eyes, with the wanton and amorous glances of them; so the Syriac version, "let her not captivate thee", &c. which applied to the antichristian church, may signify the outward pomp and grandeur of it, its pretensions to antiquity, to the apostolic see, to infallibility, miracles, great devotion, &c. which are taking to men, and are the Circean cup with which she bewitches and allures, Rev 17:4. The Targum is,
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"let her not seduce thee,'' &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v25Eye-lids - With her wanton glances,
Eye-lids - With her wanton glances,
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv24, 25, 26, 27, 29Verse 24. To keep thee from the evil woman]…
Verse 24. To keep thee from the evil woman] Solomon had suffered sorely from this quarter; and hence his repeated cautions and warnings to others. The strange woman always means one that is not a man's own; and sometimes it may also imply a foreign harlot, one who is also a stranger to the God of Israel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v24Pro 6:24-29. To keep thee from the evil woman…
Pro 6:24-29. To keep thee from the evil woman — Which is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s word, because neither worldly discretion, nor a good education, nor moral precepts, nor any other considerations, are sufficient preservatives against this lust, as is manifest from daily experience. Lust not after her beauty — Do not give way to, or delight thyself with, unchaste thoughts or affections: compare Mat 5:28. Neither let her take thee with her eyelids — With her wanton glances. For by means, &c., a man is brought to a piece of bread — To extreme poverty, so as to want, and be forced to beg his bread. And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life — To take away a man’s life; either by consuming his body and spirits, and so shortening his days; or more directly and strictly when she hath any great provocation to do it, or any prospect of considerable advantage thereby. Can a man take fire in his bosom and not be burned? — The question implies a denial; he cannot escape burning. No more can he who burns in lust avoid destruction. Whosoever toucheth her — In any immodest way; shall not be innocent — He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burned. The way of sin is down hill, and those that venture upon the temptation to it will hardly escape the sin itself; and certainly shall not escape punishment, but shall meet with it either from God or man.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv24–26Evil woman - literally, “woman of evil.” In reading…
Evil woman - literally, “woman of evil.” In reading what follows, it must be remembered that the warning is against the danger of the sin of the adulterous wife.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges1846 · Public DomainOn v25Solomon here gives our Lord’s own rule. (Mat 5:28…
Solomon here gives our Lord’s own rule. (Mat 5:28 . Compare Jas 1:14-15 ; Job 31:1 ; Psa 119:37 ; also, Sir 9:3-5 .) Resist lust in its first rising in the heart. By vain beauty,†1 and wanton eyes,†2 many a deluded victim has been brought to a piece of bread.†3 Like the insatiable huntsman, who never loses sight of his prey, till he has pursued it to death; never does the seducer cease to solicit, till she has hunted for the precious life. (Gen 39:14 . Jdg 16:18-21 . Compare Eze 13:18, Eze 13:20-21 .) Yet neither the present miseries, nor the certain end, of this wretched course, can draw away the foot, that has dared to tread the forbidden path. Self-confidence sees and fears no danger. ’I can look to myself; I need not go too far, and I shall get no harm.’ But the temptation acts upon a congenial nature like fuel, not water, on the fire. As well might we expect to take fire into our bosom, and our clothes not be burned, or to go upon hot coals, and not be burned; as to go willfully into sin, and to escape the punishment.†4 Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. ’The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.’†5 He cannot afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about him, would willfully light up the sparks? Heedlessly to rush into temptation, is to provoke the corruption, which is too ready to stir of itself. The influence of temptation, though not always sensible, is immediate. The man must be in haste, who would effectually resist it. Beware of suspicious familiarities on the borders of sin. (Gen 39:10 . Rom 13:13 . 1Th 5:22 .) The temptation to criminality in this atmosphere is fearful. (2Sa 11:2-4 . Compare Sir 9:8-9 .) Whosoever toucheth shall not be innocent. (Gen 20:6 ; Gen 39:9 . 1Co 7:1 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 31:30. Gen 6:2 ; Gen 39:6 . 2Sa 11:2 . Compare Sir 25:21 .
†2 Gen 39:7. 2Ki 9:30 . Margin Isa 3:16 . 2Pe 2:14 . Compare Paradise Lost, book xi. 1, 620.
†3 Pro 5:10; Pro 29:3 . 1Sa 2:26, 1Sa 2:36 . Job 31:9, Job 31:12 . Luk 15:13, Luk 15:30 . Compare the difference between Solomon’s chaste and unholy age. 1Ki 10:21, 1Ki 10:27, with 1Ki 12:4 .
†4 Exo 20:14, Exo 20:17 . Lev 20:10 . 2Sa 12:9 . Mal 3:5 . Even as a sin of ignorance it was liable to be visited. Gen 12:15-18 ; Gen 20:1-6 ; Gen 26:10 . So strictly has the holy Lord fenced his own ordinance! See Mede’s Sermon on Chap. iv. 23.
†5 Henry in loco. Compare Job 31:12 ; Jas 1:14-15 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv24, 26, 27, 29Stranger. This is often inculcated, because nothing is more…
Stranger. This is often inculcated, because nothing is more dangerous in youth, nor more contrary to the study of wisdom.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv24–27A specimen of its benefit. By appreciating truth, men…
A specimen of its benefit. By appreciating truth, men are not affected by lying flattery.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv24–2724. To keep thee — A special application of…
24. To keep thee — A special application of the above. One object of pious parental care and training is to preserve from base, sensual gratification. And as it should be one of the highest aims of parental solicitude to guard the youth of their households from base desires and practices, so it is one of the chief efforts of the royal sage and father in this work to describe and illustrate the terrible evils of lawless lust. Hence he returns to it again and again, and presents it under a variety of aspects. Let the reader ponder, and “flee youthful lusts.” 2Ti_2:22. “Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1Pe_2:11.
Flattery — Any kind of enticing speech. The radical idea is that of smoothness, hence pleasantness; pleasant, in this case, because addressed to the carnal appetites and exciting voluptuous desires.
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Strange woman — Or, strange tongue, (meaning the same thing,) any other woman than a man’s wife; generally in this book meaning a wanton woman. See on Pro_2:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv24, 25, 26, 2924. the tongue of a strange woman] the stranger’s…
24. the tongue of a strange woman] the stranger’s tongue, R.V., i.e. the tongue of another man’s wife, as what follows shews (Pro_6:22; Pro_6:29; Pro_6:32; Pro_6:34-35). See Pro_2:16, note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v29(29) Shall not be innocent.—That is to say, unpunished.
(29) Shall not be innocent.—That is to say, unpunished.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv25–29To keep thee from the evil woman. The specific…
To keep thee from the evil woman. The specific object to which the discourse was tending. The "commandment" and the "law" illuminate the path of true life generally, but in a special degree they, if attended to, will guard the young against sins of impurity, fornication, and adultery. The evil woman (Hebrew, esheth ra); strictly, a woman of evil, or vileness, or of a wicked disposition, addicted to evil in an extraordinary degree; ra being here a substantive standing in a genitive relation to esheth, Pro_2:12, "The way of evil (derek ra)." Cf. also tah"pukoth ra, perverstates mali, (Pro_2:14) and makh"sh"voth ra, cogitationes mali, (Pro_15:26) and anshey ra, viri mali. (Pro_28:5) The Vulgate, however, gives an adjectival force to ra rendering, it muliere mala. The LXX apo gunaikov , i.e. "from the married woman," arises from reading rea, "a companion," for ra, "evil." From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; i.e. from her enticements; Hebrew, mekhel"kath lashon noh"riyyah; literally, "from the smoothness of a strange tongue," as in the margin. Zockler, however, proposes an emendation of the Masoretic text, and substitutes the construct case, l"shon, for the absolute, lashon, rendering as in the Authorized Version, on the ground that the emphasis lies, not on the "tongue," which would be the case if we render "of a strange tongue," but on "the strange woman," who is the subject of the discourse, as in Pro_2:16 and Pro_5:20. But nok"riyyah is feminine of the adjective nok"ri, ann in agreement with lashon, which, though common, is more frequently feminine (Gesenius), and hence the two words may stand in agreement. The marginal reading is to be preferred (Wordsworth). Again, me-khel"kath, the construct ease of khel"kah, literally, "smoothness," and metaphorically flattery, with the prefix me, forms one member of the phrase, while the compound expression, lashon nok"riyyah, forms the second. Ewald and Bertheau render, "from the smooth-tongued, the strange woman," thus connecting mekhel"kath lashon, and regarding nok"riyyah as a separate and distinct idea. They agree with Symmachus and Theodotion, apo leioglwssou xenhv , i.e. "from the smooth-tongued or flattering stranger." So the Vulgate, a blanda lingua extraneae, i.e. from the smooth tongue of the strange woman. The LXX again favours the marginal reading, apo diabolhv glwsshv allotriav , "from the slander of a strange tongue." So the Chaldee Paraphrase. The Syriac reads, "from the accusation of a woman of a strange tongue," i.e. who uses a foreign language. If, however, the Authorized Version be retained, the Hebrew nok"riyyah will, as in other passages, mean "an adulteress" (Gesenius); as in Pro_5:20 Pro_7:5 Pro_23:27. Under any circumstances, we have here attributed to the tongue what, in fact, belongs to the woman. It is against the enticements and blandishments of a woman of depraved moral character that the "commandment" and "law" form a safeguard to youth.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart. The admonition of this verse embraces the two sides of the subject the external allurement and the internal predisposition to vice. Lust not after (Hebrew, al-takh"mod ); strictly, desire not, since the verb khamad is properly" to desire, or covet." The same verb is used in Exo_20:17, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour"s wife," and Exo_34:24, "Neither shall any man desire thy land". (cf. Mic_2:2 and Pro_12:12) In Psa_68:19 Isa_1:29 Isa_53:2, it has the sense of taking delight in anything. It may be questioned whether it ever has the strong meaning given in the Vulgate (non concupiscat) and adopted in the Authorized Version, "to lust after" (Holden). Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus render mh epiyumhshv . The use of khamad here reveals the warning of the Decalogue. In thine heart; Hebrew, bil"va-veka . corresponding to the en th kardia autou of Mat_5:28. The admonition is a warning to repress the very first inclinations to unchaste desires. They may be unobserved and undetected by ethers, but they are known to ourselves, and the first duty of repressing them calls for an act of determination and will on our part. Our Lord teaches, (Mat_5:28, cited above) "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." The LXX reading is Mh se nikhsh kallouv epiyumia , "Let not the desire of beauty conquer thee." Neither let her take thee with her eyelids; i.e. do not let her captivate thee with her amorous glances. Take. The Hebrew verb, lakakh, is "to captivate" with blandishments, "to allure, beguile"; (cf. Pro_11:30) LXX, mhde agreuyhv . With her eyelids (Hebrew, b"aph"appeyah); or perhaps more literally, with her eyelashes (Zockler). The eyelids; Hebrew, aph"appayim, dual of aph"aph, so called from their rapid, volatile motion, are here compared with nets, as by Philostratus ("Epistles:" Gunaiki ), who speaks of "the nets of the eyes (ta twn ommatwn diktua )." The eyelids are the instruments by which the amorous woman beguiles or catches her victims. She allures him by her glances. So St. Jerome says, "The eye of a harlot is the snare of her lover." The wanton glance is expressed in the Vulgate by nutibus illius; cf. "The whoredom of a woman may be known in her haughty looks and eyelids" (Ecc 26:9). Milton ("Paradise Lost," 11:620) speaks of the daughters of men "rolling the eye," amongst other things, in order to captivate the sons of God. Piscator and Mercerus understand the eyelids as standing metonymically for the beauty of the eye; and Bayne, for the general adornment of the head in order to attract attention. Allusion may possibly be made to the custom of Eastern women painting the eyelids to give brilliancy and expression; cf. 2Ki_9:30 (Wordsworth). A striking parallel to the verse before us occurs in Propertius, lib. 1. "Eleg." 1., "Cynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis.
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Vers. 25-35. Warning against adultery.
No candid student can ignore the fact that the view of this sin, and the motives deterrent from it, are of far lower order than those of pure Christianity. They do not rise above those of Horace, or any general morality of men of the world. In the sense that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul is in communion with God, we reach that loftier point of view whence the odium of the sin is clearly discernible, and the motives against it are the highest that can be known.
I SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESIRE. (Ver. 25) This is the general law. (Jam_1:14, Jam_1:15) Hence the last command of the Decalogue. (Exo_20:17 Mat_5:28) The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our possession, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. The beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. We must not speak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal.
II ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS,
1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26) This is a commonplace of observation. Excess in one passion affects the whole moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish away her honour will be reckless of other waste.
2. She is a spendthrift of her lovers life. The Hebrew designates the soul or life as dear, or costly. After making havoc of his possessions, she preys upon his life, more precious than all.
3. The deadly certainty of those results of such liaisons. (Vers. 27-29) By two impassioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest.
4. The further certainty of penal consequences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not overlooked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or fivefold. (Exo_21:36 Exo_22:1, sqq.; cf. Luk_19:8) The "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prosecution with all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape punishment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lover (ver. 32).
5. Other risks of detection. Castigation and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33).
Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy, which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35).
1. The lower motive fear of consequences is the most powerful deterrent from crime.
2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relation to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting.
3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil, that is an accident; the essence of the clime is in the wrong done to the soul. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv24, 27To keep thee from the evil woman.
Pro_6:24
To keep thee from the evil woman.
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The sin of uncleanness
1. One great kindness God designed men in giving them His law was to preserve them from this sin.
2. The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance from this sin. Arguments urging this caution are--
(1) It is a sin that impoverishes men.
(2) It threatens death; it kills men.
(3) It brings guilt upon the conscience and debauches it.
(4) It ruins the reputation, and entails perpetual infamy.
(5) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husband. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v24Pro_6:24. Evil woman, literally. “the woman of evil.”
CRITICAL NOTES,—
Pro_6:24. Evil woman, literally. “the woman of evil.”
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Pro_6:26. Last clause means “an adulteress allures to that which may cost a man his life” (Stuart).
Pro_6:30. Despise. Some translators render this word “scorn,” others “disregard.” Stuart, Wordsworth, and others adopt the former and understand the words to mean “men do not despise the thief, they do despise the adulterer.” Noyes and others, adopting the latter rendering, take the sentence to mean “men punish even a thief, how much more an adulterer.”
Pro_6:34. Jealousy, i.e., of the injured husband.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_6:24-35
A SPECIAL SIN AND ITS PENALTIES FROM WHICH HE WHO KEEPS GOD’S LAW WILL BE KEPT
I. From the huntress of souls. The animals of tropical jungles are compelled at intervals to forsake their safe retreats and come down to the brink of the river to quench their thirst. This necessity of their life involves them in danger. The instinct of the lion tells him that the antelope will be compelled, by the cravings of his nature, to come to the place of water, and therefore he lays in wait there to make him an easy prey. And the hunter, being fully aware of the same fact, crouches by the river-side and takes both the lion and his prey. Thus the natural bodily instincts are used as means by which the lives of the creatures are destroyed. The danger of which the young man is here warned arises out of the existence of a God-given and, therefore, lawful desire. The huntress of souls—as she is well named in Pro_6:25—takes advantage of this lawful propensity and uses it as a means of the destruction of her victim. She knows that the young man, from the strength of his lawful desires, is, comparatively, an easy prey to the seducer, hence it is to him that she points her weapons. These weapons are:
1. Flattery. Fair words cost nothing. A score of base coin can be purchased for a copper, and are worth exchanging for one golden piece. The dogs lick the hand of the vendor of their meat, but this not out of any affection for him. They do not use their tongue out of any affection for him, but for what he has. So the adulteress, and so indeed all flatterers. They give the base coin only in the hope of getting gold in return—fair words for real benefits. They will lick the back of the hand in order to get something out of the palm.
2. Her beauty. The beauty of a woman is a powerful weapon, and, if rightly used, may be a means of greatly blessing others. But, alas, how often has it been debased to the vilest purposes, how many times have strong men been cast down by it, how many sons of the mighty has it brought low, even to the dust! The keeping in the heart of the law of God’s word will teach the young man to estimate flattering words and mere external beauty at their real worth.
II. From the inevitable marks left upon both constitution and character by unlawful intercourse (Pro_6:27-28). A man’s raiment cannot be kindled into a flame without its retaining the marks after the fire has been extinguished. The scar of the burn will remain even after the wound is healed. So those who yield to the solicitations of the “strange woman” will find that soul and body will suffer from the effects of the sin long after the action has been committed.
III. From the deserved contempt of all the pure-minded (Pro_6:30-31). It is a sin compared with which a theft is a light crime in the eyes of God, and therefore in the eyes of the best men. A thief may make restitution for his crime, bnt this sin cannot be atoned for by an after act. Gold may be repaid fourfold, but dishonour brought upon a husband by a wife’s infidelity is a blot which cannot be effaced. The loss of the poor man’s ewe-lamb might be atoned for, but David could not have restored to Uriah an innocent wife. (See 2Sa_12:1-6). Hence the much heavier punishment under the Mosaic law for adultery than for theft. (See Exo_22:1-4; Lev_20:10).
IV. From the fury of a lawful jealousy (Pro_6:34). Where there is true love there is a jealousy for the honour and reputation of the object loved. The man who is not jealous for the honour of his country is not a patriot. The father who is not jealous for the reputation of his family is not worthy of the name. And so the husband who is not jealous of his own and his wife’s honour is a stranger to real love. There is a right and lawful jealousy. God calls Himself “a jealous God” (Exo_20:5). There are rights which belong to Him alone, and He is justly displeased if they are given to any other being. Paul tells the Corinthian Church that he was “jealous over them with a godly jealousy” (2Co_11:2). He was their Father in Christ, and he felt that his honour as well as theirs was staked upon their living holy lives. And the righteous jealousy of the injured husband spoken of in the text is to be dreaded, because it is righteous—because it has just grounds for its existence, and because God will see to it that the wrong is avenged.
ILLUSTRATION OF Pro_6:25
This probably refers to the care with which women in the East paint their eyelids, in a great measure in order to captivate the men, who, from the manner in which they are muffled up, can often see no more of their persons than their eyes—which may, indeed, be one reason why so much pains are taken to set them off.
ILLUSTRATION OF Pro_6:28
This image would hardly occur to us, who never go barefoot, and are never or rarely exposed to any liability of treading upon burning coals. If we desired to express the same sentiment by a similar image, we should say, “Can one handle hot coals and not be burned?” But in the East travelling parties kindle fires in the open air for cooking and for warmth, and a passenger might easily burn his naked foot by treading inadvertently upon the hot but not glowing place of one of these recently quitted fires.—Kitto.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_6:24. Bound and kept in the heart as a friend, that law will prevail to keep the youth “from the strange woman.” Observing a great swelling wave rolling forward to devour him, this faithful teacher imparts to the young voyager on life’s troubled sea a principle which will bear him buoyant over it. A slender vessel floats alone upon the ocean, contending with the storm. A huge wave approaches, towering high above her hull. All depends upon how the ship shall take it. If she go under it she will never rise again: if she is so trimmed that her bows rise with the first approaches, she springs lightly over it, and gets no harm. The threatening billow passes beneath her, and breaks with a growl behind her, but the ship is safe. The law and love of the Lord, taught by his mother in childhood, and maintaining its place yet as the friend of his bosom and the ruler of his conscience, will give the youth a spring upward proportionate to the magnitude of the temptation coming on.—Arnot.
That which is said of Jael is true of the strange woman. She brought forth soft words, but a hard nail; in her mouth was a gentle hammer, but in her hand a heavy one. Open force is more easily resisted, but that which is hid in the beginning with fair words in the end stingeth most cruelly.—Jermin.
“Flattery.” That constitutes the risk. If impenitence would tell the truth, or even if we would allow the truth, there would be no danger. But hers is an alien tongue in this,—that though we deliberately admit it is a cheat, we accept its flattery.—Miller.
Pro_6:26. A famine of bread followeth the gluttony of lust, and it is life itself that is destroyed by it. He that is thus brought to a morsel of bread on earth, shall be brought to a drop of water in hell, if repentance do not in time beg a gracious pardon for him. That man’s life is precious, the devil himself affirmeth, who seeketh to make it vile; he saith, who laboureth to destroy it, that “Skin for skin, all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job_2:4). How unworthy valuers are they therefore of their own lives who esteem them less than the devil does, and who make them a prey to the adulteress, who as a lion hunteth after them.—Jermin.
Nothing is so bewitching aswomanly enchantment. Nothing in esse, when it is base, is so contemptible. Nothing sweeps a man with such a perfect storm of influence. Nothing leaves him so perfectly defrauded and unpaid.—Miller.
Pro_6:27-28. “Fire” is a favourite emblem for wickedness. “Wickedness burneth as the fire” (Isa_9:18, see also Isa_65:5). The
(1) pain, the
(2) waste, the
(3), growth, and
(4) the small beginnings of sin are all instanced in the fire. “Bosom.” Here is just where sin is taken. Sin is not only the inward but the outward enemy, not only the coals in our bosom but the coals (or fierce tempting occasions) in the midst of which we walk—Miller.
Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. “The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell,” says Henry. He cannot afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about with him would wilfully lightup the sparks?—Bridges.
Perhaps such an one may think to tread upon coals, thereby to tread them out, but he will first tread the fire into his own feet: perhaps such an one may think to walk in the ways of lust, thereby to walk them out, but he will first walk out the strength of his body and means. The affections are the feet of man’s soul, and if they walk upon this fire they will be inflamed suddenly.—Jermin.
Pro_6:29. Though the plea of a sleepy conscience be not guilty, the sentence of God is, not innocent. It was for this wickedness that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; it was for it He brought the deluge of waters upon the world, and as it is observed, for no other sin do we read, that God is said to have repented to have made man, but for this.—Jermin.
Pro_6:30. Compared with an adulterer, a thief is not treated with so much ignominy. The laws of modern society have reversed the maxims of Solomon; and, to the dishonour of Christian nations, an adulterer, who steals what is most precious to a man, and what is irretrievable, is treated by the law with more lenity than a thief, who robs him of what is comparatively of little value and may be easily replaced.—Wordsworth.
Adultery is worse than theft. It is before us in the commandments as the greater sin (Exo_20:14-15).
1. It is a far greater theft.
2. The provocation to theft is greater. Want drives the one, wantonness draws the other. One may preserve his bodily life by his sin, the other destroys it. Hunger is a great provocation to evil (ch. Pro_30:9). Necessity is a sore weapon.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_6:33. The three things here mentioned may be referred to three causes. The wound to the devil, the enemy of mankind, the dishonour to God, dishonoured by the adulterer, the reproach to sin, which is the true object of reproach. The devil woundeth out of malice, God dishonoureth in justice, sin reproacheth by nature; and where nature hath fastened the reproach or stain it is not any art that can take it out or wipe it away. He that giveth this good counsel was himself an example of what he writeth. As Jerome saith, Solomon, the sun of men, the treasure of God’s delights, the peculiar house of wisdom, blurred with the thick ink of dishonour, lost the light of his soul, the glory of his house, the sweet perfume of his name, by the love of a woman.—Jermin.
What an indelible blot is the matter of Uriah upon David still.—Trapp.
Pro_6:34. Howbeit he may not kill the adulterer, but if no law will relieve a man, yet let him know that he shall do himself no disservice by making God his chancellor.—Trapp.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv24, 26, 28It keeps you from
It keeps you from
Here the word "it" refers to the lessons taught by the father and mother in Proverbs 6:20. AT: "It saves you from" or "It protects you from" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
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the immoral woman ... an immoral woman
These two words mean basically the same thing. See how you translated the word "adulteress" in Proverbs 5:3.
do not let her capture you with her eyelashes
The writer speaks of the woman's eyelashes as if they were a trap into which the young man could fall. They are a synecdoche for her beauty and a metonym for the way the woman looks at the young man to make her want her. AT: "do not allow her to gain control over you by being beautiful and by the way she looks at you"
immoral
"morally evil"
in your heart
Here "heart" represents the mind. AT: "in your thoughts" (See: Metonymy)
her beauty
"what is beautiful about her." This can also be a metonym for the woman. AT: "her" (See: Metonymy)
capture you
"gain control over you"
her eyelashes
The "eyelashes" stand for the beautiful things about her body that she uses to catch a man's attention. AT: "her beautiful eyes" (See: Synecdoche)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 With her wanton looks and gesture.
With her wanton looks and gesture.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–29 Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman,…
Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Ver. 24. To keep thee from the evil woman.] Heb., From the woman of evil, that is wholly given up to wickedness, - as Aaron saith of the people, {Exo 32:22} and as Plautus, In fermenlo tota iacet uxor. In this sense Antichrist is called "the man of sin." {2Th 2:3}
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From the flattery of the tongue.] This is the proper effect of God’s word, hid in the heart, as an amulet. Bellerophon and other heathens, without this preservative, abstained from adultery, either for love of praise, or fear of punishment, or opinion of merit. But this was not properly chastity, but continence, which kept them from the outward act, sed non sine dolore - not without inward lustings and hankerings after strange flesh. Vellem, si non essem imperator, said Scipio, when a fair harlot was offered to him; I would if I were not a general.
Of a strange woman.] Filthiness, as also swearing and drunkenness, in a woman is most abominable. Hence, among other reasons, saith one, the whorish woman is called "the strange woman."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 29 This is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s…
This is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s word, because neither worldly discretion, nor civil education, nor moral precepts, nor any other considerations, are sufficient preservatives against this lust, as is manifest from daily experience.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–29 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do…
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart,.... Do not look upon it with the eye, nor dwell upon it in the thought; the one will lead on to and kindle last in the heart, and the other will cherish it and blow it up into a flame; and lust thus conceived and nourished in the heart is no other than committing adultery, Mat 5:28;
neither let her take thee with her eyelids; let her not take thee from instruction with them, so Aben Ezra, from attending to that; or let her not take thy wisdom from thee, so Jarchi; or rather let her not take thee as in a net, with the sparkling of her eyes, with the wanton and amorous glances of them; so the Syriac version, "let her not captivate thee", &c. which applied to the antichristian church, may signify the outward pomp and grandeur of it, its pretensions to antiquity, to the apostolic see, to infallibility, miracles, great devotion, &c. which are taking to men, and are the Circean cup with which she bewitches and allures, Rev 17:4. The Targum is,
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"let her not seduce thee,'' &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v25 Eye-lids - With her wanton glances,
Eye-lids - With her wanton glances,
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 29 Verse 24. To keep thee from the evil woman]…
Verse 24. To keep thee from the evil woman] Solomon had suffered sorely from this quarter; and hence his repeated cautions and warnings to others. The strange woman always means one that is not a man's own; and sometimes it may also imply a foreign harlot, one who is also a stranger to the God of Israel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v24 Pro 6:24-29. To keep thee from the evil woman…
Pro 6:24-29. To keep thee from the evil woman — Which is mentioned as a great commendation of God’s word, because neither worldly discretion, nor a good education, nor moral precepts, nor any other considerations, are sufficient preservatives against this lust, as is manifest from daily experience. Lust not after her beauty — Do not give way to, or delight thyself with, unchaste thoughts or affections: compare Mat 5:28. Neither let her take thee with her eyelids — With her wanton glances. For by means, &c., a man is brought to a piece of bread — To extreme poverty, so as to want, and be forced to beg his bread. And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life — To take away a man’s life; either by consuming his body and spirits, and so shortening his days; or more directly and strictly when she hath any great provocation to do it, or any prospect of considerable advantage thereby. Can a man take fire in his bosom and not be burned? — The question implies a denial; he cannot escape burning. No more can he who burns in lust avoid destruction. Whosoever toucheth her — In any immodest way; shall not be innocent — He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burned. The way of sin is down hill, and those that venture upon the temptation to it will hardly escape the sin itself; and certainly shall not escape punishment, but shall meet with it either from God or man.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Evil woman - literally, “woman of evil.” In reading…
Evil woman - literally, “woman of evil.” In reading what follows, it must be remembered that the warning is against the danger of the sin of the adulterous wife.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On v25 Solomon here gives our Lord’s own rule. (Mat 5:28…
Solomon here gives our Lord’s own rule. (Mat 5:28 . Compare Jas 1:14-15 ; Job 31:1 ; Psa 119:37 ; also, Sir 9:3-5 .) Resist lust in its first rising in the heart. By vain beauty,†1 and wanton eyes,†2 many a deluded victim has been brought to a piece of bread.†3 Like the insatiable huntsman, who never loses sight of his prey, till he has pursued it to death; never does the seducer cease to solicit, till she has hunted for the precious life. (Gen 39:14 . Jdg 16:18-21 . Compare Eze 13:18, Eze 13:20-21 .) Yet neither the present miseries, nor the certain end, of this wretched course, can draw away the foot, that has dared to tread the forbidden path. Self-confidence sees and fears no danger. ’I can look to myself; I need not go too far, and I shall get no harm.’ But the temptation acts upon a congenial nature like fuel, not water, on the fire. As well might we expect to take fire into our bosom, and our clothes not be burned, or to go upon hot coals, and not be burned; as to go willfully into sin, and to escape the punishment.†4 Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. ’The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.’†5 He cannot afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about him, would willfully light up the sparks? Heedlessly to rush into temptation, is to provoke the corruption, which is too ready to stir of itself. The influence of temptation, though not always sensible, is immediate. The man must be in haste, who would effectually resist it. Beware of suspicious familiarities on the borders of sin. (Gen 39:10 . Rom 13:13 . 1Th 5:22 .) The temptation to criminality in this atmosphere is fearful. (2Sa 11:2-4 . Compare Sir 9:8-9 .) Whosoever toucheth shall not be innocent. (Gen 20:6 ; Gen 39:9 . 1Co 7:1 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 31:30. Gen 6:2 ; Gen 39:6 . 2Sa 11:2 . Compare Sir 25:21 .
†2 Gen 39:7. 2Ki 9:30 . Margin Isa 3:16 . 2Pe 2:14 . Compare Paradise Lost, book xi. 1, 620.
†3 Pro 5:10; Pro 29:3 . 1Sa 2:26, 1Sa 2:36 . Job 31:9, Job 31:12 . Luk 15:13, Luk 15:30 . Compare the difference between Solomon’s chaste and unholy age. 1Ki 10:21, 1Ki 10:27, with 1Ki 12:4 .
†4 Exo 20:14, Exo 20:17 . Lev 20:10 . 2Sa 12:9 . Mal 3:5 . Even as a sin of ignorance it was liable to be visited. Gen 12:15-18 ; Gen 20:1-6 ; Gen 26:10 . So strictly has the holy Lord fenced his own ordinance! See Mede’s Sermon on Chap. iv. 23.
†5 Henry in loco. Compare Job 31:12 ; Jas 1:14-15 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24, 26, 27, 29 Stranger. This is often inculcated, because nothing is more…
Stranger. This is often inculcated, because nothing is more dangerous in youth, nor more contrary to the study of wisdom.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–27 A specimen of its benefit. By appreciating truth, men…
A specimen of its benefit. By appreciating truth, men are not affected by lying flattery.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv24–27 24. To keep thee — A special application of…
24. To keep thee — A special application of the above. One object of pious parental care and training is to preserve from base, sensual gratification. And as it should be one of the highest aims of parental solicitude to guard the youth of their households from base desires and practices, so it is one of the chief efforts of the royal sage and father in this work to describe and illustrate the terrible evils of lawless lust. Hence he returns to it again and again, and presents it under a variety of aspects. Let the reader ponder, and “flee youthful lusts.” 2Ti_2:22. “Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1Pe_2:11.
Flattery — Any kind of enticing speech. The radical idea is that of smoothness, hence pleasantness; pleasant, in this case, because addressed to the carnal appetites and exciting voluptuous desires.
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Strange woman — Or, strange tongue, (meaning the same thing,) any other woman than a man’s wife; generally in this book meaning a wanton woman. See on Pro_2:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 29 24. the tongue of a strange woman] the stranger’s…
24. the tongue of a strange woman] the stranger’s tongue, R.V., i.e. the tongue of another man’s wife, as what follows shews (Pro_6:22; Pro_6:29; Pro_6:32; Pro_6:34-35). See Pro_2:16, note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v29 (29) Shall not be innocent.—That is to say, unpunished.
(29) Shall not be innocent.—That is to say, unpunished.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25–29 To keep thee from the evil woman. The specific…
To keep thee from the evil woman. The specific object to which the discourse was tending. The "commandment" and the "law" illuminate the path of true life generally, but in a special degree they, if attended to, will guard the young against sins of impurity, fornication, and adultery. The evil woman (Hebrew, esheth ra); strictly, a woman of evil, or vileness, or of a wicked disposition, addicted to evil in an extraordinary degree; ra being here a substantive standing in a genitive relation to esheth, Pro_2:12, "The way of evil (derek ra)." Cf. also tah"pukoth ra, perverstates mali, (Pro_2:14) and makh"sh"voth ra, cogitationes mali, (Pro_15:26) and anshey ra, viri mali. (Pro_28:5) The Vulgate, however, gives an adjectival force to ra rendering, it muliere mala. The LXX apo gunaikov , i.e. "from the married woman," arises from reading rea, "a companion," for ra, "evil." From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; i.e. from her enticements; Hebrew, mekhel"kath lashon noh"riyyah; literally, "from the smoothness of a strange tongue," as in the margin. Zockler, however, proposes an emendation of the Masoretic text, and substitutes the construct case, l"shon, for the absolute, lashon, rendering as in the Authorized Version, on the ground that the emphasis lies, not on the "tongue," which would be the case if we render "of a strange tongue," but on "the strange woman," who is the subject of the discourse, as in Pro_2:16 and Pro_5:20. But nok"riyyah is feminine of the adjective nok"ri, ann in agreement with lashon, which, though common, is more frequently feminine (Gesenius), and hence the two words may stand in agreement. The marginal reading is to be preferred (Wordsworth). Again, me-khel"kath, the construct ease of khel"kah, literally, "smoothness," and metaphorically flattery, with the prefix me, forms one member of the phrase, while the compound expression, lashon nok"riyyah, forms the second. Ewald and Bertheau render, "from the smooth-tongued, the strange woman," thus connecting mekhel"kath lashon, and regarding nok"riyyah as a separate and distinct idea. They agree with Symmachus and Theodotion, apo leioglwssou xenhv , i.e. "from the smooth-tongued or flattering stranger." So the Vulgate, a blanda lingua extraneae, i.e. from the smooth tongue of the strange woman. The LXX again favours the marginal reading, apo diabolhv glwsshv allotriav , "from the slander of a strange tongue." So the Chaldee Paraphrase. The Syriac reads, "from the accusation of a woman of a strange tongue," i.e. who uses a foreign language. If, however, the Authorized Version be retained, the Hebrew nok"riyyah will, as in other passages, mean "an adulteress" (Gesenius); as in Pro_5:20 Pro_7:5 Pro_23:27. Under any circumstances, we have here attributed to the tongue what, in fact, belongs to the woman. It is against the enticements and blandishments of a woman of depraved moral character that the "commandment" and "law" form a safeguard to youth.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart. The admonition of this verse embraces the two sides of the subject the external allurement and the internal predisposition to vice. Lust not after (Hebrew, al-takh"mod ); strictly, desire not, since the verb khamad is properly" to desire, or covet." The same verb is used in Exo_20:17, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour"s wife," and Exo_34:24, "Neither shall any man desire thy land". (cf. Mic_2:2 and Pro_12:12) In Psa_68:19 Isa_1:29 Isa_53:2, it has the sense of taking delight in anything. It may be questioned whether it ever has the strong meaning given in the Vulgate (non concupiscat) and adopted in the Authorized Version, "to lust after" (Holden). Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus render mh epiyumhshv . The use of khamad here reveals the warning of the Decalogue. In thine heart; Hebrew, bil"va-veka . corresponding to the en th kardia autou of Mat_5:28. The admonition is a warning to repress the very first inclinations to unchaste desires. They may be unobserved and undetected by ethers, but they are known to ourselves, and the first duty of repressing them calls for an act of determination and will on our part. Our Lord teaches, (Mat_5:28, cited above) "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." The LXX reading is Mh se nikhsh kallouv epiyumia , "Let not the desire of beauty conquer thee." Neither let her take thee with her eyelids; i.e. do not let her captivate thee with her amorous glances. Take. The Hebrew verb, lakakh, is "to captivate" with blandishments, "to allure, beguile"; (cf. Pro_11:30) LXX, mhde agreuyhv . With her eyelids (Hebrew, b"aph"appeyah); or perhaps more literally, with her eyelashes (Zockler). The eyelids; Hebrew, aph"appayim, dual of aph"aph, so called from their rapid, volatile motion, are here compared with nets, as by Philostratus ("Epistles:" Gunaiki ), who speaks of "the nets of the eyes (ta twn ommatwn diktua )." The eyelids are the instruments by which the amorous woman beguiles or catches her victims. She allures him by her glances. So St. Jerome says, "The eye of a harlot is the snare of her lover." The wanton glance is expressed in the Vulgate by nutibus illius; cf. "The whoredom of a woman may be known in her haughty looks and eyelids" (Ecc 26:9). Milton ("Paradise Lost," 11:620) speaks of the daughters of men "rolling the eye," amongst other things, in order to captivate the sons of God. Piscator and Mercerus understand the eyelids as standing metonymically for the beauty of the eye; and Bayne, for the general adornment of the head in order to attract attention. Allusion may possibly be made to the custom of Eastern women painting the eyelids to give brilliancy and expression; cf. 2Ki_9:30 (Wordsworth). A striking parallel to the verse before us occurs in Propertius, lib. 1. "Eleg." 1., "Cynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis.
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Vers. 25-35. Warning against adultery.
No candid student can ignore the fact that the view of this sin, and the motives deterrent from it, are of far lower order than those of pure Christianity. They do not rise above those of Horace, or any general morality of men of the world. In the sense that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul is in communion with God, we reach that loftier point of view whence the odium of the sin is clearly discernible, and the motives against it are the highest that can be known.
I SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESIRE. (Ver. 25) This is the general law. (Jam_1:14, Jam_1:15) Hence the last command of the Decalogue. (Exo_20:17 Mat_5:28) The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our possession, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. The beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. We must not speak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal.
II ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS,
1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26) This is a commonplace of observation. Excess in one passion affects the whole moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish away her honour will be reckless of other waste.
2. She is a spendthrift of her lovers life. The Hebrew designates the soul or life as dear, or costly. After making havoc of his possessions, she preys upon his life, more precious than all.
3. The deadly certainty of those results of such liaisons. (Vers. 27-29) By two impassioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest.
4. The further certainty of penal consequences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not overlooked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or fivefold. (Exo_21:36 Exo_22:1, sqq.; cf. Luk_19:8) The "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prosecution with all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape punishment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lover (ver. 32).
5. Other risks of detection. Castigation and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33).
Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy, which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35).
1. The lower motive fear of consequences is the most powerful deterrent from crime.
2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relation to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting.
3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil, that is an accident; the essence of the clime is in the wrong done to the soul. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv24, 27 To keep thee from the evil woman.
Pro_6:24
To keep thee from the evil woman.
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The sin of uncleanness
1. One great kindness God designed men in giving them His law was to preserve them from this sin.
2. The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance from this sin. Arguments urging this caution are--
(1) It is a sin that impoverishes men.
(2) It threatens death; it kills men.
(3) It brings guilt upon the conscience and debauches it.
(4) It ruins the reputation, and entails perpetual infamy.
(5) It exposes the adulterer to the rage of the jealous husband. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v24 Pro_6:24. Evil woman, literally. “the woman of evil.”
CRITICAL NOTES,—
Pro_6:24. Evil woman, literally. “the woman of evil.”
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Pro_6:26. Last clause means “an adulteress allures to that which may cost a man his life” (Stuart).
Pro_6:30. Despise. Some translators render this word “scorn,” others “disregard.” Stuart, Wordsworth, and others adopt the former and understand the words to mean “men do not despise the thief, they do despise the adulterer.” Noyes and others, adopting the latter rendering, take the sentence to mean “men punish even a thief, how much more an adulterer.”
Pro_6:34. Jealousy, i.e., of the injured husband.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_6:24-35
A SPECIAL SIN AND ITS PENALTIES FROM WHICH HE WHO KEEPS GOD’S LAW WILL BE KEPT
I. From the huntress of souls. The animals of tropical jungles are compelled at intervals to forsake their safe retreats and come down to the brink of the river to quench their thirst. This necessity of their life involves them in danger. The instinct of the lion tells him that the antelope will be compelled, by the cravings of his nature, to come to the place of water, and therefore he lays in wait there to make him an easy prey. And the hunter, being fully aware of the same fact, crouches by the river-side and takes both the lion and his prey. Thus the natural bodily instincts are used as means by which the lives of the creatures are destroyed. The danger of which the young man is here warned arises out of the existence of a God-given and, therefore, lawful desire. The huntress of souls—as she is well named in Pro_6:25—takes advantage of this lawful propensity and uses it as a means of the destruction of her victim. She knows that the young man, from the strength of his lawful desires, is, comparatively, an easy prey to the seducer, hence it is to him that she points her weapons. These weapons are:
1. Flattery. Fair words cost nothing. A score of base coin can be purchased for a copper, and are worth exchanging for one golden piece. The dogs lick the hand of the vendor of their meat, but this not out of any affection for him. They do not use their tongue out of any affection for him, but for what he has. So the adulteress, and so indeed all flatterers. They give the base coin only in the hope of getting gold in return—fair words for real benefits. They will lick the back of the hand in order to get something out of the palm.
2. Her beauty. The beauty of a woman is a powerful weapon, and, if rightly used, may be a means of greatly blessing others. But, alas, how often has it been debased to the vilest purposes, how many times have strong men been cast down by it, how many sons of the mighty has it brought low, even to the dust! The keeping in the heart of the law of God’s word will teach the young man to estimate flattering words and mere external beauty at their real worth.
II. From the inevitable marks left upon both constitution and character by unlawful intercourse (Pro_6:27-28). A man’s raiment cannot be kindled into a flame without its retaining the marks after the fire has been extinguished. The scar of the burn will remain even after the wound is healed. So those who yield to the solicitations of the “strange woman” will find that soul and body will suffer from the effects of the sin long after the action has been committed.
III. From the deserved contempt of all the pure-minded (Pro_6:30-31). It is a sin compared with which a theft is a light crime in the eyes of God, and therefore in the eyes of the best men. A thief may make restitution for his crime, bnt this sin cannot be atoned for by an after act. Gold may be repaid fourfold, but dishonour brought upon a husband by a wife’s infidelity is a blot which cannot be effaced. The loss of the poor man’s ewe-lamb might be atoned for, but David could not have restored to Uriah an innocent wife. (See 2Sa_12:1-6). Hence the much heavier punishment under the Mosaic law for adultery than for theft. (See Exo_22:1-4; Lev_20:10).
IV. From the fury of a lawful jealousy (Pro_6:34). Where there is true love there is a jealousy for the honour and reputation of the object loved. The man who is not jealous for the honour of his country is not a patriot. The father who is not jealous for the reputation of his family is not worthy of the name. And so the husband who is not jealous of his own and his wife’s honour is a stranger to real love. There is a right and lawful jealousy. God calls Himself “a jealous God” (Exo_20:5). There are rights which belong to Him alone, and He is justly displeased if they are given to any other being. Paul tells the Corinthian Church that he was “jealous over them with a godly jealousy” (2Co_11:2). He was their Father in Christ, and he felt that his honour as well as theirs was staked upon their living holy lives. And the righteous jealousy of the injured husband spoken of in the text is to be dreaded, because it is righteous—because it has just grounds for its existence, and because God will see to it that the wrong is avenged.
ILLUSTRATION OF Pro_6:25
This probably refers to the care with which women in the East paint their eyelids, in a great measure in order to captivate the men, who, from the manner in which they are muffled up, can often see no more of their persons than their eyes—which may, indeed, be one reason why so much pains are taken to set them off.
ILLUSTRATION OF Pro_6:28
This image would hardly occur to us, who never go barefoot, and are never or rarely exposed to any liability of treading upon burning coals. If we desired to express the same sentiment by a similar image, we should say, “Can one handle hot coals and not be burned?” But in the East travelling parties kindle fires in the open air for cooking and for warmth, and a passenger might easily burn his naked foot by treading inadvertently upon the hot but not glowing place of one of these recently quitted fires.—Kitto.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_6:24. Bound and kept in the heart as a friend, that law will prevail to keep the youth “from the strange woman.” Observing a great swelling wave rolling forward to devour him, this faithful teacher imparts to the young voyager on life’s troubled sea a principle which will bear him buoyant over it. A slender vessel floats alone upon the ocean, contending with the storm. A huge wave approaches, towering high above her hull. All depends upon how the ship shall take it. If she go under it she will never rise again: if she is so trimmed that her bows rise with the first approaches, she springs lightly over it, and gets no harm. The threatening billow passes beneath her, and breaks with a growl behind her, but the ship is safe. The law and love of the Lord, taught by his mother in childhood, and maintaining its place yet as the friend of his bosom and the ruler of his conscience, will give the youth a spring upward proportionate to the magnitude of the temptation coming on.—Arnot.
That which is said of Jael is true of the strange woman. She brought forth soft words, but a hard nail; in her mouth was a gentle hammer, but in her hand a heavy one. Open force is more easily resisted, but that which is hid in the beginning with fair words in the end stingeth most cruelly.—Jermin.
“Flattery.” That constitutes the risk. If impenitence would tell the truth, or even if we would allow the truth, there would be no danger. But hers is an alien tongue in this,—that though we deliberately admit it is a cheat, we accept its flattery.—Miller.
Pro_6:26. A famine of bread followeth the gluttony of lust, and it is life itself that is destroyed by it. He that is thus brought to a morsel of bread on earth, shall be brought to a drop of water in hell, if repentance do not in time beg a gracious pardon for him. That man’s life is precious, the devil himself affirmeth, who seeketh to make it vile; he saith, who laboureth to destroy it, that “Skin for skin, all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job_2:4). How unworthy valuers are they therefore of their own lives who esteem them less than the devil does, and who make them a prey to the adulteress, who as a lion hunteth after them.—Jermin.
Nothing is so bewitching aswomanly enchantment. Nothing in esse, when it is base, is so contemptible. Nothing sweeps a man with such a perfect storm of influence. Nothing leaves him so perfectly defrauded and unpaid.—Miller.
Pro_6:27-28. “Fire” is a favourite emblem for wickedness. “Wickedness burneth as the fire” (Isa_9:18, see also Isa_65:5). The
(1) pain, the
(2) waste, the
(3), growth, and
(4) the small beginnings of sin are all instanced in the fire. “Bosom.” Here is just where sin is taken. Sin is not only the inward but the outward enemy, not only the coals in our bosom but the coals (or fierce tempting occasions) in the midst of which we walk—Miller.
Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. “The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell,” says Henry. He cannot afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about with him would wilfully lightup the sparks?—Bridges.
Perhaps such an one may think to tread upon coals, thereby to tread them out, but he will first tread the fire into his own feet: perhaps such an one may think to walk in the ways of lust, thereby to walk them out, but he will first walk out the strength of his body and means. The affections are the feet of man’s soul, and if they walk upon this fire they will be inflamed suddenly.—Jermin.
Pro_6:29. Though the plea of a sleepy conscience be not guilty, the sentence of God is, not innocent. It was for this wickedness that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; it was for it He brought the deluge of waters upon the world, and as it is observed, for no other sin do we read, that God is said to have repented to have made man, but for this.—Jermin.
Pro_6:30. Compared with an adulterer, a thief is not treated with so much ignominy. The laws of modern society have reversed the maxims of Solomon; and, to the dishonour of Christian nations, an adulterer, who steals what is most precious to a man, and what is irretrievable, is treated by the law with more lenity than a thief, who robs him of what is comparatively of little value and may be easily replaced.—Wordsworth.
Adultery is worse than theft. It is before us in the commandments as the greater sin (Exo_20:14-15).
1. It is a far greater theft.
2. The provocation to theft is greater. Want drives the one, wantonness draws the other. One may preserve his bodily life by his sin, the other destroys it. Hunger is a great provocation to evil (ch. Pro_30:9). Necessity is a sore weapon.—Francis Taylor.
Pro_6:33. The three things here mentioned may be referred to three causes. The wound to the devil, the enemy of mankind, the dishonour to God, dishonoured by the adulterer, the reproach to sin, which is the true object of reproach. The devil woundeth out of malice, God dishonoureth in justice, sin reproacheth by nature; and where nature hath fastened the reproach or stain it is not any art that can take it out or wipe it away. He that giveth this good counsel was himself an example of what he writeth. As Jerome saith, Solomon, the sun of men, the treasure of God’s delights, the peculiar house of wisdom, blurred with the thick ink of dishonour, lost the light of his soul, the glory of his house, the sweet perfume of his name, by the love of a woman.—Jermin.
What an indelible blot is the matter of Uriah upon David still.—Trapp.
Pro_6:34. Howbeit he may not kill the adulterer, but if no law will relieve a man, yet let him know that he shall do himself no disservice by making God his chancellor.—Trapp.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 26, 28 It keeps you from
It keeps you from
Here the word "it" refers to the lessons taught by the father and mother in Proverbs 6:20. AT: "It saves you from" or "It protects you from" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
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the immoral woman ... an immoral woman
These two words mean basically the same thing. See how you translated the word "adulteress" in Proverbs 5:3.
do not let her capture you with her eyelashes
The writer speaks of the woman's eyelashes as if they were a trap into which the young man could fall. They are a synecdoche for her beauty and a metonym for the way the woman looks at the young man to make her want her. AT: "do not allow her to gain control over you by being beautiful and by the way she looks at you"
immoral
"morally evil"
in your heart
Here "heart" represents the mind. AT: "in your thoughts" (See: Metonymy)
her beauty
"what is beautiful about her." This can also be a metonym for the woman. AT: "her" (See: Metonymy)
capture you
"gain control over you"
her eyelashes
The "eyelashes" stand for the beautiful things about her body that she uses to catch a man's attention. AT: "her beautiful eyes" (See: Synecdoche)
translationWords
lust
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 26, 27 6:24-25 The immoral woman uses smooth talk and physical…
6:24-25 The immoral woman uses smooth talk and physical beauty to appeal to the vanity of young men.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.