Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 6:24
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 6:24
To keep thee from the evil woman.
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.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is mentioned as a great commendation of Gods 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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. A specimen of its benefit.By appreciating truth, men are not affected by lying flattery.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
To keep thee from the evil woman,…. This is one use of the profit arising from attending to the instructions of parents, and to the law of God, as taught by them; to preserve from fornication and adultery, one of its precepts expressly forbidding adultery and all corporeal uncleanness; and the whole of it directing to an observance of all duties respecting God and our neighbour, which requires diligence and industry, and prevents idleness, that inlet to all sin, and especially to uncleanness k;
from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; the same with the evil woman, the lewd and adulterous one; see Pr 2:16. Jarchi interprets this of idolatry; the character well agrees with the idolatrous church of Rome, or antichrist, represented by a whore,
Re 17:1; as this woman is called “the woman of evil” l, for so it may be rendered, one very evil, given up and abandoned to sin; so antichrist is called “the man of sin”, 2Th 2:3; and as this woman is said to have the “smoothness of a strange tongue” m, as the words may be translated, and are by the Targum; so the religion of this false church is delivered in a strange language the people understand not, by which they are kept in ignorance and deception; now the word of God read and explained in the mother tongue, and especially the Gospel part of it, the doctrine of wisdom, is a means of preserving persons from the errors and heresies, superstition and idolatry, of the church of Rome, and from being carried away with their false glosses, and gaudy worship, and all its deceivable ways of unrighteousness.
k “Otia si tollas periere cupidinis arcus”, Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 139. Quaeritur Aegistheus, “quare sit factus adulter?–in promptu causa est, desidiosus erat”. Ibid. v. 161, 162. l “a muliere mali”, Baynus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. m “a lenitate linguae extraneae”, Montanus; “a laevitate linguae peregrinae”, Michaelis; “ex lubrica glabritie linguae peregrinae”, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The section thus closes:
To keep thee from the vile woman,
From the flattery of the strange tongue.
Regarding the genitive connection , a woman of a wicked character, vid., under Pro 2:14; and regarding the adjectival connection , under Pro 6:17; the strange tongue is the tongue ( ) of the strange (foreign) woman ( vid., p. 81), alluring with smooth words (Pro 2:16). Ewald, Bertheau: from her of a smooth tongue, the stranger, as Symm., Theod., ; but is a substantive (Gen 27:16), and as a fem. adject. form is without an example. Rather is to be regarded as the first member and as the second of the st. constr., for the former constitutes one idea, and on this account remains unabbreviated; cf. Psa 68:22; Isa 28:1; but (1) this syntactical phenomenon is yet problematical, vid., Friedr. Philippi, Wesen und Ursprung des St. Constr. p. 17; and (2) the supposition of such an anomaly is here unnecessary.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Beware of the Evil Woman (Pro 6:24-35)
Vs. 24 repeats the intent of Pro 2:16 to keep the son from being ensnared by the flattery of the strange: woman (later revealed as an adulteress).
Vs. 25 introduces the first line of defense against such a woman. Lust not after her. Be aware that lust in the heart is also a grievous sin (Mat 5:28). Depart, do not tarry to be enticed by her beauty or come hither eyes, 1Co 6:18; Heb 13:4.
Vs. 26 further warns that yielding to the seductress endangers well being and life, Pro 29:3; Gen 39:11-14; Gen 39:19-20.
Vs. 27-29 emphasize inescapable punishment. The adulterer can no more avoid punishment than he could embrace fire or walk upon hot coals without being burned. Verse 29 affirms that he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife shall not be innocent (unpunished is the meaning).
Vs. 30-35 emphasize the enormity of the Adulterer’s sin and the severity of his punishment by a comparison. A thief who steals to satisfy hunger is required to restore seven-fold even though it takes all that he has, but he is not despised, Vs. 30, 31. The man who commits adultery with the wife of another brings upon himself consequences much more severe:
1) It is an offense for which he cannot make restitution, nor will the offended husband regard any gifts as mitigating compensation, Vs. 35.
2) He subjects himself to the jealous rage and vengeance of the offended husband, Vs. 34; Gen 39:19-20.
3) He brings upon himself disgrace that cannot be wiped away, Vs. 33.
4) He is guilty before God of an offense destructive to himself and worthy of death, Vs. 32; Job 31:11; Deu 22:22.
5) He may obtain forgiveness from God if he truly repents, Mat 26:28; Psa 51:1-3; Psa 32:3-5, but so long as he lives the memory of irretrievable wrong inflicted upon the innocent will not be wiped away, Vs. 33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES,
Pro. 6:24. Evil woman, literally. the woman of evil.
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 PARAGRAPHPro. 6:24-35
A SPECIAL SIN AND ITS PENALTIES FROM WHICH HE WHO KEEPS GODS 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 soulsas she is well named in Pro. 6:25takes 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 returnfair 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 Gods 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 mans 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 wifes infidelity is a blot which cannot be effaced. The loss of the poor mans 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 wifes 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 righteousbecause 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 eyeswhich 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 lifes 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 mans 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 walkMiller.
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 mans 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 Gods 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.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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.
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
One Intention Of The Commandment And Torah Is To Keep Him From The Adulterous Woman Who Will Seek To Lead Him Astray ( Pro 6:24-29 ).
In contrast with ‘woman wisdom’ (e.g. Pro 1:20-33; Pro 3:13-20) is the ‘strange woman’ who will seek to lead him astray. She will speak smooth words and seek to entice him with her beauty and her eyelids. But her way only leads to poverty and judgment.
Once again note the chiasmus:
A To keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the stranger’s tongue (Pro 6:24).
B Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her take you with her eyelids (Pro 6:25)
C For on account of a prostitute/immoral woman a man is brought to a piece of bread, and the adulteress hunts for the precious life (Pro 6:26).
B Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? (Pro 6:27-28).
A So he who goes in to his neighbour’s wife, whoever touches her will not be unpunished (Pro 6:29).
Note that A refers to the evil woman, the female stranger, and the parallel identifies her as the neighbour’s wife. In B he must not burn with lust and passion, and in the parallel this is likened to playing with fire. Central is the idea of the consequences.
Pro 6:24-26
‘To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattery (‘smoothness’) of the stranger’s tongue,
Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her take you with her eyelids.
For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread,
And the adulteress hunts for the precious life.’
One of the dangers of dividing up the text under headings is a loss of continuity. The original text, of course, is continuous, as is often the thought, even though chiasms do serve to indicate the subsections. Here Pro 6:24 continues on directly from Pro 6:23. It is the commandment, the torah and reproofs which were aimed at keeping the young man from the evil woman.
In this case the evil and strange woman is in fact a neighbour’s wife (previously she has been a foreign wife, or a prostitute). But like a prostitute her aim is to inveigle the young man into wrongful sexual activity by means of her smooth tongue (her flattery), her sexual beauty, and her fluttering eyelids. She is behaving like a prostitute, and is an adulteress. Like the worthless man she has deceitful lips. To heed her is to play with fire (Pro 6:27-28). It is an interesting lesson that in Proverbs the only other reference to a woman’s beauty, as opposed to her sexual attractions (Pro 5:18-19), is of it as ‘as nothing, vain’. What is seen as far more important is that she fears YHWH (Pro 31:30)
‘For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread, and the adulteress hunts for the precious life.’ The opening clause is literally ‘on account of/by means of a harlot unto/around a loaf of bread’. There are a number of possible interpretations:
1) On account of a prostitute the victim is reduced to poverty, having as a result of his extravagances only a loaf of bread left of all his possessions (compare1Sa 2:36 where an impoverished priest humbles himself for ‘a piece of silver or a loaf of bread’, a minimum requirement for survival). Compare Pro 5:10-11 which supports this.
2) On account of/by means of a prostitute the victim himself is reduced in value to that of a loaf of bread. That is all he can be seen as worth.
3) On account of having/by means of a prostitute the victim has to pay the cost of a loaf of bread. This is based on a suggested meaning for be‘ad as ‘cost, price’, or as meaning ‘exchange for’ (compare Job 2:4), but indicates a very low charge for a prostitute. It may, however, be seen as unlikely that someone who could say what Solomon has said previously about prostitutes (Pro 2:18-19; Pro 5:4-5) would so belittle the cost of going with a prostitute.
The question must be answered by considering the parallel that ‘an adulteress hunts for the precious life’. In other words an adulteress is pictured as hunting down, by her allurements, a man’s very life, the most precious thing of all that he possesses. And this because the sentence for adultery was death.
So the thought may be that the harlot ruins a man wealthwise, but an adulteress ruins him totally, taking his very life from him; that a prostitute lowers a man’s personal value, but an adulteress ruins him totally, because through death he ceases to have any value; or that a prostitute is cheap by comparison as the adulteress costs him, not a loaf of bread but his very existence (for the penalty for adultery was death).
Pro 6:27-29
‘Can a man take fire in his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be scorched?
So he who goes in to his neighbour’s wife,
Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
If a man holds fire against himself, probably in a pot, his clothes will undoubtedly be singed, although the thought might be to postulate an absurdity, a man actually carrying fire in his clothing (the thought being how absurd the man is who engages in adultery). A man who walks on hot coals must expect his feet to be burned. So a man who plays with fire by going in to ‘his neighbour’s wife’ (the wife of a fellow-Israelite) must certainly expect to be severely punished. It is inevitable.
‘Whoever touches her.’ A euphemism for someone who touches her sexually, and has sex with her.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Shame of Falling Prey to the Adulteress Proverb 6:24-35 gives a brief description of the allurements of the adulteress and the shame a man incurs when yielding to her enticements.
Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Pro 6:24
Here the Scriptures show us that the quickest way to judge an adulteress is by the words that she speaks. We have also seen in Pro 6:12 that the quickest way to judge a wicked person is by his words.
Pro 6:12, “A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.”
Thus, the first characteristics of the wicked man and the adulteress refer to their words. In the same way, the first characteristics of wisdom that we are given in Pro 8:6-8 are words that are spoken.
Pro 8:6-8, “Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.”
Pro 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Pro 6:25
Mat 5:28, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Pro 6:25 “neither let her take thee with her eyelids” – Word Study on “take” Strong says the Hebrew word “take” ( ) (H3947) is a primitive root that means, “to take.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 965 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “ take 747, receive 61, take away 51, fetch 31, bring 25, get 6, take out 6, carry away 5, married 4, buy 3, misc 26.”
Pro 6:25 Comments – The adulteress woman uses her beauty to gain access to his mind through the sense-gate of his eyes.
Pro 6:26 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.
Pro 6:26
Pro 6:26 “and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life” – Illustration: Delilah seeking Samson’s source of strength (or life).
Pro 6:26 Comments – The objective of the adulteress is to get the man’s wealth. She will not stop until she has taken everything he will yield to her. She will play this game until he has nothing more to give her. She will then leave him for another victim.
Pro 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Pro 6:27
Jas 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
Thus, we can see an illustration of Pro 6:27 in the epistle of Jas 5:1-3 when the rich men are warned that their unrighteousness mammon will eat their flesh as fire. In other words, the more wealth that they have gained in an ungodly manner, the greater the fire that they will be subjected to in hell.
Jas 5:1-3, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire . Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.”
Pro 6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
Pro 6:29 Pro 6:27-29
Pro 6:30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Pro 6:30
Pro 6:31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
Pro 6:31
Gen 4:15, “And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold . And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.”
Lev 4:6, “And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD , before the vail of the sanctuary.”
Lev 26:18, “And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins .”
Lev 26:21, “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins .”
Lev 26:24, “Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins .”
Lev 26:28, “Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins .”
Deu 28:25, “The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them : and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
Psa 79:12, “And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.”
Dan 3:19, “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated .”
Also, seven of Saul’s sons died for the sins of one man:
2Sa 21:6, “ Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us , and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.”
In the New Testament, Jesus said that a man who backslides will have seven more demons enter him after being delivered from one demon.
Mat 12:45, “Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself , and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”
Peter sought an answer from Jesus for forgiveness, in the place of judgment. Peter suggested seven times:
Mat 18:21-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times ? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
God uses seven years to judge nations and kings of major sins:
Gen 41:30, “And there shall arise after them seven years of famine ; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;”
2Sa 24:13, “So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land ? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.”
King Nebuchadnezzar was judged for seven years:
Dan 4:16, “Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him .”
God uses seven days to judge individuals of minor sins and uncleanness in the Scriptures.
Lev 12:2, “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days ; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.”
Lev 15:24, “And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days ; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.”
God’s judgment on the earth in the book of Revelation comes in sevens:
Rev 15:8, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled .”
Pro 6:30-31 Comments – Oral Roberts said the Lord told him that in Pro 6:30-31 the thief is referring to Satan. [71]
[71] Oral Roberts, interviewed by Benny Hinn, This is Your Day, on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
Pro 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
Pro 6:32
1Co 6:18, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body .”
No other sin in the body of Christ brings such reproach and disgust upon a man and upon the body of Christ as the sin of fornication. In this sin, a man becomes one with a harlot, and cuts himself off from fellowship with Christ. This sin is capable of bringing more harm to the man’s physical body that all other sins, in the form of diseases.
No other sin does quicker harm to a marriage. No other sin does quicker harm to a pastor’s reputation, for it creates an image in the minds of his flock that will never go away.
Pro 6:33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
Pro 6:33
Gen 35:22, “And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:”
His father’s prophecy many years later reveals that Reuben’s reproach had not gone away:
Gen 49:3-4, “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.”
We see this reproach in the life of Judah when he lay with Tamar, his daughter-in-law (Genesis 38). Here, Judah’s sin is also forever recorded in the book of Genesis, and his children born by Tamar are recorded in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Chris:
Mat 1:3, “And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;”
We see this reproach in the life of David (2Sa 12:10-12). Although God forgave David’s sin with Bathsheba, the reproach will always remain recorded in history. Note:
1Ki 15:5, “Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite .”
Mat 1:6, “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”
After David’s sin with Bathsheba, we never read about him accomplishing great exploits. This sin brought him low in his office just like we see in the lives of great ministers who fall into adultery. They may continue in the ministry, but not on the same level of greatness before others.
Pro 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Pro 6:35 Pro 6:34-35
Note:
Pro 27:4, “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy ?”
In Pro 27:4, the Hebrew word “envy is the same that is used here in Pro 6:34 as jealousy.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Cunning Devises of the Adulteress The adulteress is cunning and crafty. She seeks the life of her victim. She has a goal and she knows how to reach her goal, which is to gain a man’s wealth even when it costs him his life. She knows that to get a man’s wealth, she has to first win his heart. If she can take his heart, she knows that he will give his strength to fulfill the passions of his heart. He will yield his strength to obtain the wealth that is needed to bring him the desires of his heart. Thus, she gets him to use his strength to yield his wealth to her. He will be brought to a piece of bread and even give his life when he is bound in service to the adulteress. She understands this principle because she has tested it from her youth. From the time that men started noticing her she started testing her boundaries and her power of seduction. She knows how to use her secret strength called seduction. With it she can force the strongest of men to yield their wealth to her.
Let us follow this procedure of seduction. Her goal is to win his heart by means of enticement and seduction. She must first gain control over his mind. With control over his mind she can control his will. With control over his will she will capture his heart, which will lead him to use his strength to gain his wealth. She will not turn loose until she has brought him to a piece of bread and taken away his life.
The battle begins with an attempt to enter the man’s mind. The entrances into the mind are through the five sense-gates of hearing, seeing, touching, tasting and smelling. This is the way God created man. The adulteress first uses her tongue to get the attention of her victim, and by flattery she enter the sense-gate of hearing (Pro 6:24, Pro 7:10). Her words are loud and persistent (Pro 7:11) and she does not give up easily. She can then enter the sense-gate of the eyes by dressing to reveal her fleshly body (Pro 6:25). She knows from experience that few men will turn their eyes away from her fleshly beauty. This is why she must leave her domestic duties and go out into the streets (Pro 7:12). Once she has gained access to his mind through the sense gates of hearing and seeing, she grabs him to arouse the sense-gate of touch (Pro 7:13). With a bold kiss she enters the sense-gate of taste (Pro 7:13). Her perfume arouses the sense-gate of smell with which she has also prepared her bed (Pro 7:17). Thus, she has entered his five sense-gates: hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, smelling.
With all five sense-gates aroused the simple man has no strength to resist. It takes a man of God to walk away from that situation. It takes a man who has already made the decision to say no in this situation. She has now captured his mind and moves into the next phase of seduction, which is reason. She speaks to him and convinces him with lying lips that he has captured her heart (Pro 7:14-15), when the opposite is actually true. With her persistence and her reason she forces him to yield (Pro 7:16-21). He loses his sense of reason and yields himself to her reason, becoming blind to the fact that it will cost him his life (Pro 7:22-23). She has now captured his mind. With time in the bed of adultery she intends on taking her victim into the next phase, which is to capture his heart. Once she has his heart, she will be able to direct his paths and ultimately gain his wealth.
In a similar way, wisdom asks for our hearts also. Because once wisdom has our hearts, she can lead us down the path that brings us blessings in every area of our lives.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Shame of Falling Prey to the Adulteress Pro 6:24-35
2. Exhortation to Put God’s Word Before our Eyes Pro 7:1-5
3. The Setting: Alluring the Five Sense-Gates Pro 7:6-13
4. Capturing the Mind Pro 7:14-21
5. Controlling the Heart Pro 7:22-23
6. Final Warning Pro 7:24-27
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
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
From the flattery of the tongue.
Of a strange woman.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
strange woman = alien, or foreign woman. Hebrew. nakar. See note on Pro 5:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
keep: Pro 2:16, Pro 5:3, Pro 7:5, Ecc 7:26
of the tongue of a strange woman: or, of the strange tongue
Reciprocal: Exo 20:14 – General Exo 20:17 – wife Lev 15:20 – General Jdg 11:2 – a strange Jdg 16:5 – Entice 1Ki 11:1 – loved Pro 5:4 – her Pro 5:20 – with Pro 11:9 – through Pro 22:14 – mouth Pro 26:28 – a flattering 1Co 6:18 – Flee
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 6:24-29. To keep thee from the evil woman Which is mentioned as a great commendation of Gods 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 mans 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.