in up to or over against · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
whorish
זוֹנָ֗הzo.Nah
H2181
to commit adultery (usually of the female · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
woman
אִשָּׁ֥ה'i.Shah
H802
a woman · noun, common feminine singular absolute
piece
כִּכַּ֫רki.Kar
H3603
a circle · noun, common feminine singular construct
bread
לָ֥חֶםLa.chem
H3899
food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
adulteress
וְאֵ֥שֶׁתve.'E.shet
H802
a woman · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
hunt
תָצֽוּדta.Tzud
H6679
to lie alongside (i.e. in wait) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
precious
יְקָרָ֣הye.ka.Rah
H3368
valuable (objectively or subjectively) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
life
נֶ֖פֶשׁNe.fesh
H5315
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 15:30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Proverbs 29:3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
Genesis 39:14 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 unt…
1 Samuel 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bre…
Proverbs 5:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
Proverbs 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Proverbs 29:8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
Ezekiel 13:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 6:20–end
Here is, I. A general exhortation faithfully to adhere to the word of God and to take it for our guide in all our actions.
1. We must look upon the word of God both as a light (Pro 6:23) and as a law, Pro 6:20, Pro 6:23. (1.) By its arguments it is a light, which our understandings must subscribe to; it is a lamp to our eyes for discovery, and so to our feet for direction. The word of God reveals to us truths of eternal certainty, and is built upon the highest reason. Scripture-light is the sure light. (2.) By its authority it is a law, which our wills must submit to. As never such a light shone out of the schools of the philosophers, so never such a law issued from the throne of any prince,…
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 (Pro 6:29-35) sustain. Of similar results of this sin, compare Pro 5:9-12.
will hunt--alluding to the snares spread by harlots (compare Pro 7:6-8).
precious life--more valuable than all else.
John Gill on Proverbs 6:26
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread,.... To be glad of one, and to beg for one, for the least morsel; it is expressive of the extreme poverty and want which harlots bring men to, who strip them of all their substance, and then send them going to get their bread as they can; thus the prodigal, having spent his substance with harlots, was so reduced as to desire the husks which swine ate, Luke 15:13; so spiritual fornication or idolatry leaves men without bread for their souls, brings them into spiritual poverty, and even to desperation and death;
and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life; or "soul" (n); not content with his precious substance, his je…
For the price of a harlot is hardly a loaf of bread. Remember that the pleasure of fornication is brief and the punishment for the fornicator is perpetual. Just as one loaf of bread only dispels hunger for a day, and nevertheless he who has been satisfied by the eaten bread will hunger afterward, so he who goes into a harlot may indeed dispel his lust for a moment, but afterwards returns with greater fervor.
"The price of a loose woman is scarcely a loaf of bread; but if she is married, she is a trap for your life." Notice how great sin is, that on account of the space of one hour, in which an unhappy soul is joined to a prostitute, he renders himself alien to eternal life and makes himself liable to punishment by eternal fire. Even if that unfortunate delight of pleasure should stretch out over the space of a hundred years, it would not be right, and the unhappy soul would suffer eternal punishments in return for the pleasure of a hundred years.
We must notice the apostle's prudence. He did not say, it is good not to have a wife, but it is good not to touch a woman: as though there were danger even in the touch, as though he who touched her would not escape from her who "hunts for the precious life" and causes the young man's understanding to fly away. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? As then he who touches fire is instantly burned, so by the mere touch the peculiar nature of man and woman is perceived, and the difference of sex is understood.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bread — Among the Jews was generally made of wheat (Ex. 29:2; Judg. 6:19), though also sometimes of other grains (Gen. 14:18; Judg. 7:13). Parched grain was sometimes used for food without any other…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The proaemium of these twelve proverbial discourses is now at an end. Wisdom herself begins striking the note of the Decalogue:
25 Long not for her beauty in thy heart,
And let her not catch thee with her eyelids;
26 Because for a harlot one cometh down to a piece of bread,
And a man's wife lieth in wait for a precious soul.
The warning 25a is in the spirit of the "thou shalt not covet," Exo 20:17, and the ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὑτοῦ, Mat 5:28, of the Preacher on the Mount. The Talmudic proverb הרהודי עבירה קשו מעבירה (Joma 29a) means only that the imagination of the sinful act exhausts the body even more than the act itself. The warning, "let her not catch thee with her eyelids," refers to he…
Sleeping with a prostitute has consequences, and sleeping with another man’s wife can cost you your life. Her husband will seek revenge (6:34-35), and God is watching in judgment.
Rashi on Proverbs 6:26
Because a man is brought to a loaf of bread for a harlot He is reduced to poverty and the lack of all good things.
