English Standard Version
Proverbs 6:26
26for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
Proverbs 6:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
- New International Version (NIV)For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
Context of Proverbs 6:26
24to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
Read all of Proverbs 6Proverbs 6:26 word by word
כִּ֤י בְעַד־אִשָּׁ֥ה זוֹנָ֗ה עַֽד־כִּכַּ֫ר לָ֥חֶם וְאֵ֥שֶׁת אִ֑ישׁ נֶ֖פֶשׁ יְקָרָ֣ה תָצֽוּד׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For by means ofבַּ֫עַדbe‛ad · about/through/forH1157
- a whorishזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
- womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- to a pieceכִּכָּרkikâr · talentH3603
- of breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- and the adulteressאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
- will huntצוּדtsûd · to huntH6679
- for the preciousיָקָרyâqâr · preciousH3368
- lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
Cross-references for Proverbs 6:26
- Proverbs 5:10lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
- Proverbs 29:3He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- Luke 15:13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
- 1 Samuel 2:36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, "Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'"
- Genesis 39:14she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.
- Ezekiel 13:8Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God.
Commentaries on Proverbs 6:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26By means of a whorish woman - In following lewd women, a man is soon reduced to poverty and disease. The Septuagint gives this a strange turn: timh gar pornhv, osh kai enov artou. "For the price or hire of a whore is about one loaf." So many were they in the land, that they hired themselves out for a bare subsistence. The Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, give the same sense. The old MS. Bible has it thus: The price forsothe of a strumpet is unneth oon lof…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26The two forms of evil bring, each of them, their own penalty. By the one a man is brought to such poverty as to beg for “a piece of bread” (compare 1 Samuel 2:36): by the other and more deadly sin he incurs a peril which may affect his life. The second clause is very abrupt and emphatic in the original; “but as for a man‘s wife; she hunts for the precious life.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-35Verses 20-35 The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions. Let not faithful reproofs ever make us uneasy. When we consider how much this sin abounds, how heinous adultery is in its own nature, of what evil consequence it is, and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated. Let us notice the subjects of this chapter. Let us remember Him who willingly…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26Sleeping with a prostitute has consequences, and sleeping with another man's wife can be dangerous. Her husband may seek revenge (Proverbs 6:34–35), and God observes and judges.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. The supplied words give a better sense than the old version: "The price of a whore is a piece of bread." adulteress--(Compare Margin), which the parallel and context (Pr 6:29-35) sustain. Of similar results of this sin, compare Pr 5:9-12. will hunt--alluding to the snares spread by harlots (compare Pr 7:6-8). precious life--more valuable than all else.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 6:26
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries