Obey Parental Commands and the Dangers of Adultery
Proverbs 6:20-35
Pro.6.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נצר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- מצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אביך: NOUN,m,sg,suff+2ms
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תטש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- תורת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אמך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:8 (verbal): Almost identical wording and command: 'Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching'—same admonition to keep a father's command and a mother's instruction.
- Proverbs 4:1-4 (verbal): Parental instruction motif and repeated language ('Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father' / 'do not forsake my law'); emphasizes transmission of a father's teaching to the child.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (thematic): Commands that God's words be held in the heart and taught diligently to children—shared theme of intergenerational transmission of instruction and law.
- Ephesians 6:1-3 (thematic): New Testament injunction to children to obey and honor their parents; echoes the biblical ethic of filial obedience and the significance of parental commands.
- Proverbs 23:22 (thematic): Similar exhortation to heed one's parents ('Listen to your father who begot you; do not despise your mother when she is old')—part of Proverbs' consistent emphasis on honoring parental instruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- My son, keep your father's commandment and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
- My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Pro.6.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קשרם: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- לבך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- תמיד: ADV
- ענדם: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg,OBJ=3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- גרגרתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,POSS=2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:3 (verbal): Both verses use the image of binding virtues/teachings about the neck and writing them on the heart—same wording and concern for internalizing wisdom.
- Proverbs 7:3 (verbal): Commands to 'bind' teachings on the finger/neck and 'write' them on the heart parallel the practical exhortation to keep wisdom constantly present.
- Proverbs 4:21-22 (thematic): Urges keeping wise sayings in view and in the heart; thematically echoes the call to continual internal remembrance of instruction.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-8 (structural): Ancient Israelite prescription to keep God's words on the heart and bind them as a sign on hand/forehead; provides the broader legal-cultural background for the proverb's imagery.
- Deuteronomy 11:18 (allusion): Restates the injunction to place God's words in heart and bind them as signs—parallels the proverb's metaphor of constant, embodied remembrance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Bind them continually on your heart; fasten them about your throat.
- Bind them continually upon your heart; fasten them about your neck.
Pro.6.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בהתהלכך: VERB,hitpael,ptc,2,m,sg
- תנחה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- בשכבך: VERB,qal,ptc,2,m,sg
- תשמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- והקיצות: CONJ+VERB,qal,ptc,2,m,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- תשיחך: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Deut.6.7 (verbal): Similar sequence of actions (walk, lie down, rise) and the injunction to keep and speak the commandments at all times—close verbal and thematic parallel to Prov 6:22.
- Prov.6.21 (structural): The immediately preceding verse directs binding the teaching on heart and neck; 6:22 continues that theme by describing how the teaching will lead, guard, and speak—tight structural and verbal connection.
- Prov.4.11-13 (thematic): Speaks of teaching the way of wisdom and holding fast to instruction because it will guard and keep you—same theme of instruction as guide and protector.
- Ps.119.105 (thematic): Depicts God's word as a lamp to the feet and light to the path—a parallel image of divine/wisdom instruction guiding one's walk.
- Josh.1.8 (thematic): Commands constant meditation on the law (day and night) so one may act prosperously—echoes the idea that the teaching accompanies and directs one at all times.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you walk they will guide you; when you lie down they will watch over you; and when you awake they will speak to you.
- When you walk they will guide you; when you lie down they will watch over you; when you awake they will speak to you.
Pro.6.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- נר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מצוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותורה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודרך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- תוכחות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
Parallels
- Psalm 119:105 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: God’s word/commandment pictured as a lamp and light guiding the path—'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.'
- Psalm 19:8 (verbal): Describes the precepts/commandment as enlightening and life-giving—'the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes,' echoing law-as-light and instruction-as-goodness.
- Proverbs 15:31 (verbal): Closely echoes the linkage of reproof/instruction with life and wisdom: 'The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise,' reflecting 'reproofs of instruction are the way of life.'
- John 8:12 (allusion): New Testament appropriation of OT light/way imagery: Jesus as 'the light of the world' who gives the 'light of life' to those who follow—echoing the law-as-light and instruction-as-life motif.
- Proverbs 4:18 (thematic): Shares the theme of a guided, illuminated path: 'The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,' paralleling the idea that wisdom/command (light) directs a way of life.
Alternative generated candidates
- For a commandment is a lamp, and teaching is light; the corrections of discipline are the way of life.
- For a command is a lamp and instruction is light; the corrections of discipline are the way of life.
Pro.6.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לשמרך: VERB,qal,inf,0,0,0,suff2ms
- מאשת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,constr
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מחלקת: VERB,piel,ptc,3,f,sg
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- נכריה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (allusion): Promises deliverance from the ‘strange woman’ who seduces; language and theme parallel Prov 6:24’s purpose to keep the reader from the adulterous/foreign woman.
- Proverbs 5:3-6 (verbal): Describes the adulteress’s ‘smooth’/sweet speech and lips that lead to death—closely echoes the image of a seductive tongue in 6:24.
- Proverbs 7:21-23 (structural): A narrative portrayal of seduction using flattery and soft speech that draws a young man to ruin; expands the warning behind 6:24’s brief admonition.
- Matthew 5:28 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching that looking at a woman lustfully is adultery in the heart parallels the moral/ethical concern of avoiding the seductive speech and influence warned against in Prov 6:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- They will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a foreigner.
- To keep you from the loose woman, from the smooth tongue of a strange woman.
Pro.6.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תחמד: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- יפיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בלבבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תקחך: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,OBJ:2,m,sg
- בעפעפיה: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:3–6 (verbal): Both passages warn against the seductive speech and allure of the forbidden woman; imagery of sweet words that lead to ruin parallels the admonition not to desire her beauty or be seized by her glance.
- Proverbs 7:10–23 (verbal): An extended scene of a seductress who uses her looks and gestures (including winking/eye-contact) to ensnare a man; closely parallels the admonition in 6:25 about being captured by her eyelids.
- Proverbs 2:16–19 (thematic): Warns that the forbidden woman leads men away from life to death and poverty; thematically parallels the counsel to resist inward desire for her beauty to avoid being led astray.
- Matthew 5:28 (thematic): Jesus teaches that inward lust is equivalent to adultery of the heart; this New Testament teaching echoes Proverbs’ focus on internal desire (’in your heart’) as the real danger to be resisted.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her take you by her eyelids.
- Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her captivate you with her eyelashes.
Pro.6.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- בעד: PREP
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זונה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- ככר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואשת: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יקרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- תצוד: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:3-6 (verbal): Both passages warn that the smooth, tempting speech of a forbidden woman leads to ruin and death (sweetness that ends in the grave); similar imagery of seduction resulting in fatal consequences.
- Proverbs 7:21-27 (structural): An extended narrative of seduction in which the woman entices the young man and leads him to 'the house of the strange woman'/'death'; parallels the idea that the adulteress seeks the man's life.
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Describes the 'strange woman' who seduces and causes her victim to stagger toward death and destruction—thematically parallel warning about an adulteress hunting down a man's life.
- Proverbs 23:27-28 (verbal): Calls a prostitute 'a deep pit' who lies in wait like an ambusher; the ambush/lying-in-wait motif parallels the image of the adulteress who 'hunts' for the precious life.
Alternative generated candidates
- For a harlot will take a man's bread—yet an adulteress hunts down a precious life.
- For the hire of a harlot is but a loaf of bread, yet the wife of another man hunts down a precious life.
Pro.6.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- היחתה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בחיקו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- ובגדיו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשרפנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:28 (verbal): Immediate parallel line in the same proverb using a similar image of walking on hot coals—same rhetorical question about inevitable burning.
- Proverbs 6:29 (verbal): Direct continuation that identifies the comparison's referent: the man who goes in to his neighbor's wife suffers the same unavoidable harm—links the fire-image to adultery.
- Proverbs 6:32–33 (thematic): Explicit teaching on adultery's consequences (shame, disgrace, violence) — develops the proverb's theme that illicit sexual sin brings inevitable ruin.
- Proverbs 5:3–14 (thematic): Earlier warning against the 'strange woman' whose ways lead to death and ruin; a sustained proverb-cycle on sexual folly and its destructive results, thematically parallel.
- Matthew 5:27–30 (thematic): Jesus' warning that adultery (even in the heart) leads to decisive loss and calls for radical avoidance—echoes Proverbs' portrayal of sexual sin as self-destructive.
Alternative generated candidates
- Can a man kindle fire in his bosom and his garments not be burned?
- Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his garments not be scorched?
Pro.6.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- יהלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הגחלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ורגליו: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,3ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- תכוינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:27 (verbal): Uses the closely related image of carrying fire near the chest to ask whether one can play with danger and escape harm—parallel rhetorical question about risk and consequence.
- Proverbs 6:29 (structural): Gives the immediate application of the fire/coal imagery: the person who goes to another's wife will not go unpunished, linking the rhetorical question to the moral conclusion.
- Proverbs 7:23–27 (thematic): A longer warning about the consequences of adultery—seduction leads to violence and death—echoing the same theme of inevitable harm for sexual unfaithfulness.
- Proverbs 5:4–6 (thematic): Describes the drink and path of the adulteress as ultimately bitter and leading down to death, thematically parallel in warning about the destructive outcome of illicit sexual relations.
- Isaiah 43:2 (verbal): Employs similar fire/walking-through-fire language ('when you pass through the fire you shall not be burned') but in a contrasting theological register—God’s protective promise versus the proverb’s rhetorical expectation that danger brings harm.
Alternative generated candidates
- Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
- If a man walks upon burning coals, will his feet not be burned?
Pro.6.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כן: ADV
- הבא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- אשת: NOUN,f,sg,cns
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- ינקה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- הנגע: PART,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:3-5 (verbal): Warning about the adulterous/forbidden woman whose paths lead to death and ruin—parallels the danger and culpability of engaging with another man’s wife.
- Proverbs 7:21-23 (verbal): Narrative of seduction in which a man follows the adulterous woman to his ruin; closely parallels the proverb’s depiction of inevitable guilt and harm from such contact.
- Exodus 20:14 (structural): The Decalogue prohibition 'You shall not commit adultery' provides the legal/ethical basis for judging sexual contact with another’s spouse as culpable.
- Genesis 39:8-9 (thematic): Joseph’s refusal of Potiphar’s wife models resisting sexual temptation and acknowledges that yielding would be sinful—thematises the responsibility and guilt addressed in Prov 6:29.
- Matthew 5:27-28 (allusion): Jesus cites and broadens the adultery prohibition to include lustful intent, connecting internal culpability to the external act that Proverbs treats as certainly guilty.
Alternative generated candidates
- So the man who goes in to his neighbor's wife: none who touch her shall go unpunished.
- So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife: none who touch her will be innocent.
Pro.6.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבוזו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לגנב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- יגנוב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- למלא: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- נפשו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ירעב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:31 (structural): Immediate continuation: acknowledges social leniency toward a thief who steals from hunger but then imposes restitution—'if he is found he must restore sevenfold.'
- Leviticus 19:9-10 (thematic): Law commands landowners to leave gleanings for the poor and so provide a lawful provision for the hungry, offering an alternative to stealing to satisfy hunger.
- Deuteronomy 24:19-21 (thematic): Repeats the command to leave forgotten sheaves and gleanings for the stranger, fatherless, and widow—social provisions addressing the needs that might drive someone to steal.
- Exodus 22:1-4 (thematic): Legal material on theft and restitution (payment for stolen animals or loss), paralleling the verse’s concern with theft motivated by need and the communal/legal response requiring compensation.
- Ruth 2:2-3 (allusion): Narrative example of a vulnerable person gleaning in the fields (Ruth), illustrating the accepted, non-criminal means by which the hungry obtain food and highlighting communal provision contrasted with theft.
Alternative generated candidates
- Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry.
- Men will not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry.
Pro.6.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונמצא: VERB,nifal,perf,3,m,sg
- ישלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שבעתים: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- הון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביתו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:30 (structural): Immediate context: contrasts human sympathy for a hungry thief with the legal/ethical requirement to make full restitution (sets up v.31's penalty).
- Exodus 22:1–4 (thematic): Law of restitution for theft (multiplicative penalties — e.g., pay fivefold for an ox, pay double if the stolen animal is found) — parallels the principle of making the thief compensate beyond the original value.
- Leviticus 6:2–5 (Heb. 5–7) (thematic): Priestly law requiring full restoration plus a fifth and a guilt offering for theft/robbery — another Old Testament formulation of mandatory restitution and additional penalty for wrongdoing.
- Luke 19:8 (thematic): Zacchaeus' pledge to restore those he defrauded fourfold echoes the New Testament practice/expectation of making multiplied restitution for theft or fraud.
Alternative generated candidates
- If he is found, he will repay sevenfold; he will give all the substance of his house.
- If he is found, he will restore sevenfold; he will give all the substance of his house.
Pro.6.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נאף: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חסר: ADJ,m,sg
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משחית: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- נפשו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- יעשנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:3-14 (thematic): Extended warning against the adulterous woman: seduction, loss of honor and wealth, and fatal consequences for the unwise man (like 6:32's emphasis on lack of sense and self-destruction).
- Proverbs 7:25-27 (thematic): Describes the harlot's house leading men to death and ruin—parallels 6:32's link between adultery and destroying one's life.
- Proverbs 6:26 (verbal): Same chapter's close parallel: the adulteress 'preys upon' or 'takes away' a man's life/wealth, echoing 6:32's language of ruin and lack of sense.
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Advises staying clear of the immoral woman whose house leads to death and loss of years—again connecting sexual unfaithfulness with destruction of life.
- Matthew 5:27-28 (thematic): Jesus expands adultery to include lustful intent and warns of moral culpability; thematically related to Proverbs' concern with inner folly and the ruinous effects of sexual sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- He who commits adultery lacks understanding; he destroys his own soul.
- He who commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he destroys his own life—he who does it.
Pro.6.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נגע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וקלון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וחרפתו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תמחה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:32 (verbal): Immediate context—states that adultery destroys the offender, directly leading into 6:33’s language of wounds, dishonor, and enduring reproach.
- Proverbs 5:9-14 (thematic): Warns that sexual folly brings loss of honor, regret, and lasting calamity—parallels 6:33’s emphasis on disgrace and unremovable reproach.
- Proverbs 7:26-27 (thematic): Depicts the ruin, shame, and descent to death caused by the seductress—similar imagery of destruction and dishonor found in 6:33.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (thematic): New Testament warning that sexual immorality (including adultery) brings decisive negative judgment and exclusion—echoes Proverbs’ theme of severe, lasting consequences.
- Hebrews 13:4 (thematic): Affirms that marriage is honorable and that God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous—parallels Proverbs’ link between sexual sin and dishonor/reproach.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out.
- Wounds and disgrace will he find, and his shame will not be blotted out.
Pro.6.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- קנאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ולא: CONJ
- יחמול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- נקם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 27:4 (verbal): Both verses link jealousy with fierce wrath—'wrath is cruel... who can stand before jealousy?'—echoing Prov.6:34's portrayal of jealousy as a man's fury.
- Song of Solomon 8:6 (verbal): Describes jealousy as fiercely destructive ('jealousy is cruel as the grave'), a close poetic parallel to the intensity of anger in Prov.6:34.
- Nahum 1:2 (thematic): Depicts the LORD as 'jealous and avenging' who takes vengeance and is filled with wrath, thematically paralleling human jealousy tied to retributive fury in Prov.6:34.
- Deuteronomy 22:22 (structural): Laws prescribing severe punishment for adultery reflect the social/legal context of spousal jealousy and violent retribution that underlies Prov.6:32–35 and 6:34.
- Romans 12:19 (thematic): New Testament counterpoint: 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' contrasts human uncompassionate vengeance in Prov.6:34 with the injunction to leave judgment to God.
Alternative generated candidates
- For jealousy is a man's fury, and he will not spare on the day of vengeance.
- For jealousy is a man’s fury; he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Pro.6.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כל: DET
- כפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יאבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- תרבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- שחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 21:14 (thematic): Both verses link gifts/bribes with placating anger: Prov.6:35 asserts many gifts will not appease the wronged husband, while Prov.21:14 observes that a secret gift can sometimes soothe anger (contrast in outcome).
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (verbal): Deut.16:19 forbids accepting bribes and notes their perverting effect on justice—language and concern about the (non)acceptance of bribes echoes Prov.6:35’s refusal of ransom/gifts.
- Proverbs 17:8 (verbal): This proverb describes a bribe/gift as beneficial to the giver’s prospects (a charm), reflecting the same cultural idea of gifts used to win favor that Prov.6:35 says will fail to placate.
- Psalm 15:5 (thematic): Psalm 15 praises the righteous person who will not accept a bribe against the innocent, paralleling Prov.6:35’s theme of refusing bribery or gifts intended to reverse moral judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will accept no ransom, nor will he be satisfied though you multiply gifts.
- He will accept no ransom, nor be appeased though you offer many gifts.
My son, keep your father's commandment; do not abandon your mother's teaching.
Bind them upon your heart always; fasten them about your neck.
When you walk they will guide you; when you lie down they will watch over you; when you awake they will speak to you.
For a commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
They will keep you from an evil woman, from the smooth-tongued stranger.
Do not desire her beauty in your heart; do not be taken by her eyelids.
For a loaf of bread a man may be led astray by a harlot; but the married woman hunts down a precious life.
Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his garments not be burned?
If a man walks upon hot coals, his feet will be scorched. So the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife will not go unpunished; none who touches her is innocent.
People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry.
Yet if he is found he will restore sevenfold; he will give up all the wealth of his house.
He who commits adultery with a woman lacks discretion; he destroys his own life.
Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out.
For jealousy is the fury of a man; he will not spare on the day of vengeance.
He will accept no ransom; he will not be appeased though you multiply gifts.