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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Proverbs 6:26 For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/proverbs/6-26.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/8/20_Pro_06_26.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Proverbs 6:26 - Warnings Against Adultery" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/proverbs/6.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />For the price of a prostitute <i>reduces one</i> to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for a precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/proverbs/6.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/proverbs/6.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />For on account of a harlot <i>one is reduced</i> to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/proverbs/6.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />For on account of a harlot <i>one is reduced</i> to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/proverbs/6.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />For on account of a prostitute one is reduced to a piece of bread [to be eaten up], And the immoral woman hunts [with a hook] the precious life [of a man].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/proverbs/6.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man goes after a precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/proverbs/6.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute&#8217s fee is only a loaf of bread, but an adulteress goes after a precious life. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/proverbs/6.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread; And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/proverbs/6.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />A woman who sells her love can be bought for as little as the price of a meal. But making love to another man's wife will cost you everything. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/proverbs/6.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />For on account of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/proverbs/6.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />A prostitute's price is [only] a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts for [your] life itself.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/proverbs/6.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />A man can hire a prostitute for the price of a loaf of bread, but adultery will cost him all he has. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/proverbs/6.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread, and an adulterous woman stalks a man's precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/proverbs/6.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/proverbs/6.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man preys on your precious life. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/proverbs/6.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/proverbs/6.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />For by means of a lewd woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/proverbs/6.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/proverbs/6.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />For a harlot consumes to a cake of bread, "" And an adulteress hunts the precious soul.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/proverbs/6.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> For a harlot consumeth unto a cake of bread, And an adulteress the precious soul hunteth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/proverbs/6.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />For by a woman a harlot, even to a round of bread: and a man's wife will hunt the precious soul.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/proverbs/6.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/proverbs/6.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />For the price of a prostitute is only one loaf. Yet the woman seizes the precious soul of a man.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/proverbs/6.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />For the price of a harlot may be scarcely a loaf of bread, But a married woman is a trap for your precious life. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/proverbs/6.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/proverbs/6.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />For the appearance of a harlot is tempting like a loaf of bread; and the adulteress hunts for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/proverbs/6.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />For the comparison of a woman who is a harlot is like a loaf of bread, and a man's wife hunts the precious soul.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/proverbs/6.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread, But the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/proverbs/6.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/proverbs/6-26.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpUA5ZltBeQ?start=1070" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/6.htm">Warnings Against Adultery</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">25</span>Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. <span class="reftext">26</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/3588.htm" title="3588: kî (Conj) -- That, for, when. ">For</a> <a href="/hebrew/1157.htm" title="1157: ḇə·‘aḏ- (Prep) -- From ad with prepositional prefix; in up to or over against; generally at, beside, among, behind, for, etc.">the levy</a> <a href="/hebrew/802.htm" title="802: ’iš·šāh (N-fs) -- Woman, wife, female. Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym; a woman."></a> <a href="/hebrew/2181.htm" title="2181: zō·w·nāh (N-fs) -- To commit fornication, be a harlot. A primitive root; to commit adultery; figuratively, to commit idolatry.">of the prostitute</a> <a href="/hebrew/3603.htm" title="3603: kik·kar (N-fsc) -- From karar; a circle, i.e. a circumjacent tract or region, expec. The Ghor or valley of the Jordan; also a loaf; also a talent (round) coin).">is poverty,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3899.htm" title="3899: lā·ḥem (N-ms) -- Bread, food. From lacham; food, especially bread, or grain."></a> <a href="/hebrew/5704.htm" title="5704: ‘aḏ- (Prep) -- As far as, even to, up to, until, while. Properly, the same as ad; as far as, whether of space or time or degree."></a> <a href="/hebrew/802.htm" title="802: wə·’ê·šeṯ (Conj-w:: N-fsc) -- Woman, wife, female. Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym; a woman.">and the adulteress</a> <a href="/hebrew/376.htm" title="376: ’îš (N-ms) -- Man. Contracted for 'enowsh; a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term."></a> <a href="/hebrew/6679.htm" title="6679: ṯā·ṣūḏ (V-Qal-Imperf-3fs) -- To hunt. A primitive root; to lie alongside; by implication, to catch an animal; to victual.">preys upon</a> <a href="/hebrew/3368.htm" title="3368: yə·qā·rāh (Adj-fs) -- Precious, rare, splendid, weighty. From yaqar; valuable.">your very</a> <a href="/hebrew/5315.htm" title="5315: ne·p̄eš (N-fs) -- From naphash; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. Animal of vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense.">life.</a> </span><span class="reftext">27</span>Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/5-28.htm">Matthew 5:28</a></span><br />But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/6-18.htm">1 Corinthians 6:18</a></span><br />Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/james/1-14.htm">James 1:14-15</a></span><br />But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. / Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_thessalonians/4-3.htm">1 Thessalonians 4:3-5</a></span><br />For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_peter/2-11.htm">1 Peter 2:11</a></span><br />Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/galatians/5-19.htm">Galatians 5:19-21</a></span><br />The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; / idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, / and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/13-13.htm">Romans 13:13-14</a></span><br />Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. / Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ephesians/5-3.htm">Ephesians 5:3-5</a></span><br />But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. / Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. / For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/colossians/3-5.htm">Colossians 3:5-6</a></span><br />Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. / Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/13-4.htm">Hebrews 13:4</a></span><br />Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_timothy/2-22.htm">2 Timothy 2:22</a></span><br />Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/genesis/39-7.htm">Genesis 39:7-12</a></span><br />and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” / But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. / No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/20-14.htm">Exodus 20:14</a></span><br />You shall not commit adultery.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/20-10.htm">Leviticus 20:10</a></span><br />If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/5-18.htm">Deuteronomy 5:18</a></span><br />You shall not commit adultery.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">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.</p><p class="hdg">by</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/5-10.htm">Proverbs 5:10</a></b></br> Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours <i>be</i> in the house of a stranger;</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/29-3.htm">Proverbs 29:3,8</a></b></br> Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth <i>his</i> substance… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/luke/15-13.htm">Luke 15:13-15,30</a></b></br> And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living… </p><p class="hdg">a piece</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/1_samuel/2-36.htm">1 Samuel 2:36</a></b></br> And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> every one that is left in thine house shall come <i>and</i> crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.</p><p class="hdg">the adulteress</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/39-14.htm">Genesis 39:14</a></b></br> That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/ezekiel/13-8.htm">Ezekiel 13:8</a></b></br> Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I <i>am</i> against you, saith the Lord GOD.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/psalms/144-3.htm">Account</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-24.htm">Adulteress</a> <a href="/job/19-27.htm">Another's</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-8.htm">Bread</a> <a href="/1_chronicles/16-3.htm">Cake</a> <a href="/psalms/105-35.htm">Consumeth</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-12.htm">Goes</a> <a href="/psalms/106-39.htm">Harlot</a> <a href="/job/14-6.htm">Hired</a> <a href="/psalms/140-11.htm">Hunt</a> <a href="/psalms/140-11.htm">Hunteth</a> <a href="/psalms/10-2.htm">Hunts</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-23.htm">Life</a> <a href="/psalms/107-17.htm">Means</a> <a href="/job/42-11.htm">Piece</a> <a href="/proverbs/3-15.htm">Precious</a> <a href="/2_corinthians/11-20.htm">Preys</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/21-13.htm">Prostitute</a> <a href="/psalms/102-5.htm">Reduced</a> <a href="/leviticus/6-10.htm">Reduces</a> <a href="/psalms/91-6.htm">Stalks</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-44.htm">Whorish</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-24.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/proverbs/16-4.htm">Account</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-5.htm">Adulteress</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-9.htm">Another's</a> <a href="/proverbs/9-5.htm">Bread</a> <a href="/isaiah/38-21.htm">Cake</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/5-17.htm">Consumeth</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-29.htm">Goes</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-10.htm">Harlot</a> <a href="/isaiah/7-20.htm">Hired</a> <a href="/proverbs/12-27.htm">Hunt</a> <a href="/leviticus/17-13.htm">Hunteth</a> <a href="/micah/7-2.htm">Hunts</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-35.htm">Life</a> <a href="/proverbs/13-8.htm">Means</a> <a href="/proverbs/28-21.htm">Piece</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-11.htm">Precious</a> <a href="/2_corinthians/11-20.htm">Preys</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-10.htm">Prostitute</a> <a href="/ezekiel/16-27.htm">Reduced</a> <a href="/isaiah/40-23.htm">Reduces</a> <a href="/songs/7-8.htm">Stalks</a> <a href="/jeremiah/3-3.htm">Whorish</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-29.htm">Wife</a><div class="vheading2">Proverbs 6</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-1.htm">against indebtedness</a></span><br><span class="reftext">6. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-6.htm">idleness </a></span><br><span class="reftext">12. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-12.htm">and mischievousness</a></span><br><span class="reftext">16. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-16.htm">seven things detestable to God</a></span><br><span class="reftext">20. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-20.htm">the blessings of obedience</a></span><br><span class="reftext">25. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/6-25.htm">the mischief of unfaithfulness</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/6.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/proverbs/6.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>For the levy of the prostitute is poverty</b><br>This phrase highlights the financial consequences of engaging with a prostitute. In ancient Israel, prostitution was not only a moral issue but also an economic one. The term "levy" suggests a tax or a financial burden, indicating that such relationships can lead to financial ruin. Proverbs often warns against the folly of pursuing temporary pleasures at the expense of long-term stability. The cultural context of the time viewed wealth as a sign of God's blessing, and squandering it on immoral pursuits was seen as both foolish and sinful. This aligns with other biblical teachings, such as in <a href="/proverbs/5-10.htm">Proverbs 5:10</a>, which warns that one's wealth can be given to others when engaging in such behavior.<p><b>and the adulteress preys upon your very life</b><br>This part of the verse emphasizes the severe consequences of adultery, extending beyond financial ruin to endanger one's very existence. The imagery of "preys upon" suggests a predator-prey relationship, indicating that the adulteress is actively seeking to destroy. In the historical context, adultery was a grave sin with severe social and legal repercussions, often leading to death or social ostracism. This phrase can be connected to the broader biblical theme of sin leading to death, as seen in <a href="/james/1-15.htm">James 1:15</a>, which states that sin, when fully grown, brings forth death. The warning here is not just about physical danger but also spiritual peril, as engaging in adultery can lead one away from a righteous path and ultimately from God.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/p/prostitute.htm">Prostitute</a></b><br>In the context of Proverbs, the prostitute symbolizes temptation and moral compromise. The Hebrew word used here is (zonah), which refers to a woman who engages in sexual immorality for gain.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/a/adulteress.htm">Adulteress</a></b><br>This term refers to a married woman who engages in sexual relations outside of her marriage. The Hebrew word (nokriyah) can also imply a foreign or strange woman, emphasizing the danger of engaging with those outside the covenant community.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/p/poverty.htm">Poverty</a></b><br>This is not just financial destitution but also spiritual and moral impoverishment. The Hebrew root (resh) suggests a lack or neediness that results from poor choices.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/l/life.htm">Life</a></b><br>The Hebrew word (nephesh) is used here, which can mean life, soul, or self. It indicates the depth of the impact that engaging with an adulteress can have on one's entire being.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_cost_of_sin.htm">The Cost of Sin</a></b><br>Engaging in sexual immorality leads to both material and spiritual poverty. It is crucial to recognize the true cost of sin, which often appears enticing but results in significant loss.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/guarding_the_heart.htm">Guarding the Heart</a></b><br><a href="/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26</a> serves as a reminder to guard one's heart and mind against temptations that can lead to moral and spiritual downfall.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_wisdom.htm">The Importance of Wisdom</a></b><br>Seeking wisdom and understanding from God's Word helps believers discern and avoid the pitfalls of immorality.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/a/accountability_and_community.htm">Accountability and Community</a></b><br>Being part of a faith community provides support and accountability, helping individuals resist temptations and make righteous choices.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_path_to_restoration.htm">The Path to Restoration</a></b><br>For those who have fallen into sin, there is hope and restoration through repentance and God's grace.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_proverbs_6.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Proverbs 6</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_committing_adultery_acceptable.htm">Is committing adultery acceptable?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_proverbs_say_on_laziness.htm">What does Proverbs say about lazy people?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_fuels_prostitution's_essence.htm">What drives the essence of prostitution?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_to_reconcile_proverbs_26_on_fools.htm">Proverbs 26 (overall): How do we reconcile the repeated harshness toward 'fools' with biblical themes of mercy, forgiveness, and understanding?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/6.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 26.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">For by means of a whorish</span> <span class="cmt_word">woman a man is brought to a</span> <span class="cmt_word">piece of bread.</span> From this verse onwards to the end of the chapter the discourse consists of a series of arguments, each calculated to deter youth from the sins of fornication and adultery, by exhibiting the evil consequences of such indulgence. The first is the poverty and extreme beggary to which a man is brought. <span class="accented">For by means of</span>; Hebrew, <span class="accented">ki v'ad.</span> Lee gives the preposition <span class="accented">vaad</span> the force of "after," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> after associating with. The radical idea of the preposition is that of nearness, <span class="accented">by, near</span>, and easily passes to that of "because" (Gesenius) or "by means of," as in the Authorized Version. It is here used for <span class="accented">per</span>, "through," as in <a href="/joshua/2-15.htm">Joshua 2:15</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/20-23.htm">2 Samuel 20:23</a>, and so indicates the transit through the way of fornication to extreme beggary (Gejerus). <span class="accented">A whorish woman</span>; Hebrew, <span class="accented">ishshah zonah</span>; Vulgate, <span class="accented">scortum</span>; LXX., <span class="greek">πόρνη</span>; "a harlot," here corresponding to "the adulteress" (<span class="accented">esheth ish</span>), since the root <span class="accented">zonah</span>, "to commit fornication," is attributed both to married and unmarried women (<a href="/genesis/38-24.htm">Genesis 38:24</a>; Leo. 19:29; <a href="/hosea/3-3.htm">Hosea 3:3</a>). The word <span class="accented">zonah</span> is sometimes written alone, as in <a href="/genesis/38-15.htm">Genesis 38:15</a> and <a href="/deuteronomy/23-19.htm">Deuteronomy 23:19</a>. The fuller expression, as here, occurs in <a href="/leviticus/21-7.htm">Leviticus 21:7</a>; <a href="/joshua/2-1.htm">Joshua 2:1</a>; <a href="/judges/11-1.htm">Judges 11:1</a>. <span class="accented">To a piece of bread</span>; Hebrew, <span class="accented">adkikkar lakhem.</span> It will be noticed that there is an ellipsis in the Hebrew, which, however, may be easily supplied, as in the Authorized Version. Delitzsch supplies "one cometh down to;" so Zockler. "A piece of bread' is properly "a circle of bread, a small round piece of bread, such as is still baked in Italy (<span class="accented">pagnotta</span>) and in the East (Arabic <span class="accented">kurs</span>), here an expression for the smallest piece" (Fleischer). The term occurs in <a href="/exodus/29-23.htm">Exodus 29:23</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/2-36.htm">1 Samuel 2:36</a>, in the latter of which passages it expresses the extreme destitution to which the members of the house of Eli were to be reduced. As illustrating the term, see also ch. 38:21 and <a href="/ezekiel/13-19.htm">Ezekiel 13:19</a>. The LXX. and Vulgate singularly render, "For the price of a harlot is scarcely that of a bit of bread," which may mean, as Castalio, that she is of so little value; but the context is opposed to this rendering, where the Point brought out is not the vile character of the harlot as the ruin she inflicts or is the cause cf. Besides, the Hebrew <span class="accented">ad</span> does not mean ever "scarcely," or "hardly," which the Vulgate <span class="accented">vix<span class="cmt_word"></span></span> gives to it. <span class="cmt_word">And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.</span> The adulteress is <span class="accented">isheth ish</span>, literally, "the woman of a man," or "a man's wife," as in the margin - as, therefore, strictly an adulteress here (cf. <a href="/leviticus/20-10.htm">Leviticus 20:10</a>). <span class="accented">Will hunt</span>; Hebrew, <span class="accented">thatsud</span>; LXX., <span class="greek">ἀγρεύει</span>; Vulgate, <span class="accented">capit.</span> The Hebrew verb <span class="accented">tsud</span>, "to lie in wait for," "to hunt," also signifies "to take, or capture," like the Vulgate <span class="accented">capere</span>, The verb in its metaphorical use also occurs in <a href="/lamentations/3-52.htm">Lamentations 3:52</a>; <a href="/micah/7-2.htm">Micah 7:2</a>; <a href="/psalms/140-12.htm">Psalm 140:12</a>, and refers to those beguilements resorted to by the adulteress to seduce youth. In <a href="/ezekiel/13-18.htm">Ezekiel 13:18</a> it carries with it the idea of death, and if understood in this sense here it may have reference to the death penalty inflicted on adulterer and adulteress by the Mosaic Law (<a href="/leviticus/20-10.htm">Leviticus 20:10</a>), and introduces what is said more fully in vers. 32, 34, 35. <span class="accented">The precious life</span>; Hebrew, <span class="accented">nephesh y'karah</span> The epithet <span class="accented">y'karah</span> is appropriately added to <span class="accented">nephesh</span>, as indicating the high value of the life. All is implied in the <span class="accented">nephesh</span>, "the life," moral dignity of character, the soul of man. It is the ever-existing part of the man, and therefore is precious - nothing can exceed it in value. Our Lord says (<a href="/matthew/16-26.htm">Matthew 16:26</a>), "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" and the psalmist (<a href="/psalms/49-8.htm">Psalm 49:8</a>), "For the redemption of their life is precious." But it is for this life, or soul, that the adulteress hunts, and which she destroys. Lives of fornication and adultery, therefore, carry with them the severest penalties, the loss of temporal possessions, for the enjoyment of a transient passion, and far beyond this the loss of life both temporal and eternal. We cannot imagine a more deterrent warning. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/proverbs/6-26.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">For</span><br /><span class="heb">כִּ֤י</span> <span class="translit">(kî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunction<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3588.htm">Strong's 3588: </a> </span><span class="str2">A relative conjunction</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the levy</span><br /><span class="heb">בְעַד־</span> <span class="translit">(ḇə·‘aḏ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1157.htm">Strong's 1157: </a> </span><span class="str2">In up to, over against, at, beside, among, behind, for</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of the prostitute</span><br /><span class="heb">זוֹנָ֗ה</span> <span class="translit">(zō·w·nāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2181.htm">Strong's 2181: </a> </span><span class="str2">To commit adultery, to commit idolatry</span><br /><br /><span class="word">is poverty,</span><br /><span class="heb">כִּכַּ֫ר</span> <span class="translit">(kik·kar)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3603.htm">Strong's 3603: </a> </span><span class="str2">A round, a round district, a round loaf, a round weight, a talent (a measure of weight or money)</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and the adulteress</span><br /><span class="heb">וְאֵ֥שֶׁת</span> <span class="translit">(wə·’ê·šeṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_802.htm">Strong's 802: </a> </span><span class="str2">Woman, wife, female</span><br /><br /><span class="word">preys upon</span><br /><span class="heb">תָצֽוּד׃</span> <span class="translit">(ṯā·ṣūḏ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6679.htm">Strong's 6679: </a> </span><span class="str2">To lie alongside, to catch an animal, to victual</span><br /><br /><span class="word">your very</span><br /><span class="heb">יְקָרָ֣ה</span> <span class="translit">(yə·qā·rāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3368.htm">Strong's 3368: </a> </span><span class="str2">Precious, rare, splendid, weighty</span><br /><br /><span class="word">life.</span><br /><span class="heb">נֶ֖פֶשׁ</span> <span class="translit">(ne·p̄eš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5315.htm">Strong's 5315: </a> </span><span class="str2">A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion </span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/proverbs/6-26.htm">Proverbs 6:26 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/proverbs/6-26.htm">OT Poetry: Proverbs 6:26 For a prostitute reduces you to (Prov. Pro Pr) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/proverbs/6-25.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Proverbs 6:25"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Proverbs 6:25" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/proverbs/6-27.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Proverbs 6:27"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Proverbs 6:27" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>