PROV 6:26 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Τιμὴ γὰρ πόρνης ὅση καὶ ἑνὸς ἄρτου, γυνὴ δὲ ἀνδρῶν τιμίας ψυχὰς ἀγρεύει.
(Timaʸ gar pornaʸs hosaʸ kai henos artou, gunaʸ de andrōn timias psuⱪas agreuei. )

BrTr For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.

ULT For the price of a prostitute woman is as a loaf of bread,
⇔ but the wife of a man hunts a precious life.

UST Do not do so because, although having sex with a prostitute may only cost you a cheap meal,
⇔ doing so with an adulterous married woman will cause you to die.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
⇔ The adulteress hunts for your precious life.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET 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.

LSV For a harlot consumes to a cake of bread,
And an adulteress hunts the precious soul.

FBV You can buy a prostitute for the price of a loaf of bread, but adultery with another man's wife can cost you your life.

T4T Do not forget that you can hire a prostitute for only a loaf of bread,
⇔ but if you sleep with another man’s wife, ◄it may cost you/you may lose► your life.

LEB • For the price of a woman, a prostitute,[fn] is the price of a loaf of bread, but the woman belonging to a man[fn] hunts precious life.

6:? Or “whore”

6:? Literally “the woman of a man”

BBE For a loose woman is looking for a cake of bread, but another man's wife goes after one's very life.

Moff for the harlot is only out to earn a meal,
⇔ but the adulteress preys upon your very life.

JPS For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread, but the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

ASV For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread;
⇔ And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

DRA For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man.

YLT For a harlot consumeth unto a cake of bread, And an adulteress the precious soul hunteth.

Drby for by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a loaf of bread, and another's wife doth hunt for the precious soul.

RV For on account of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
(For on account of a whorish woman a man is brought to apiece of bread: and the adulteress hunteth/hunts for the precious life. )

SLT For by a woman a harlot, even to a round of bread: and a man’s wife will hunt the precious soul.

Wbstr 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.

KJB-1769 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.[fn]
(For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to apiece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. )

6.26 the adulteress: Heb. the woman of a man, or, a man’s wife

KJB-1611 [fn]For by meanes of a whorish woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteresse will hunt for the precious life.
(For by means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to apiece of bread: and the adulteresse will hunt for the precious life.)

6:26 Heb. the woman of a man, or a mans wife.

Bshps By an harlot a man is brought to beg his bread, and a woman wyll hunte for the pretious life of man.
(By an harlot a man is brought to beg his bread, and a woman will hunte for the precious life of man.)

Gnva For because of the whorish woman a man is brought to a morsell of bread, and a woman wil hunt for the precious life of a man.
(For because of the whorish woman a man is brought to a morsel of bread, and a woman will hunt for the precious life of a man. )

Cvdl An harlot wil make a ma to begg his bred, but a maried woman wil hunt for ye precious life.
(An harlot will make a man to beg his bred, but a married woman will hunt for ye/you_all precious life.)

Wycl For the prijs of an hoore is vnnethe of o loof; but a womman takith the preciouse soule of a man.
(For the price of an hoar/grey is unnethe of o loaf; but a woman taketh/takes the precious soul of a man.)

Luth Denn eine Hure bringet einen ums Brot; aber ein Eheweib fähet das edle Leben.
(Because a/one whore(n) brings/gets a about bread; but a Eheweib drive the noble life.)

ClVg pretium enim scorti vix est unius panis, mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.
(price/ransom/value because scorti barely it_is of_one bread/food, woman however men at_a_pricesam the_soul takes. )

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 6:20–35: Ninth lesson: If you commit adultery, you will be severely punished

This lesson may be summarized as follows: The son should heed his parents’ teaching, because it will keep him from the dangers of adultery (6:20–24). He should strictly avoid being tempted by another man’s wife. An affair with such a woman will have inevitable and disastrous consequences (6:25–33), resulting from the jealous fury of the husband (6:34–35).

Some other headings for this section are:

Warning Against Adultery (NIV)

Avoid adultery

More Advice About Avoiding Adultery (GW)

The terrible consequences of committing adultery

Paragraph 6:20–35

In these notes, this section forms a single paragraph (as in the NRSV). If a long paragraph like this is not natural in your language, you may want to make paragraph breaks as in the section summary above. Some other ways to divide the paragraphs are:

6:20–26, 27–35 (GNT)
6:20–22, 23–29, 30–35 (CEV)
6:20–29, 30–35 (NIV)

Divide the paragraphs in a way that fits the natural patterns of your language.

6:26

There is a contrast between the two lines of this verse. The NRSV has been used as the source line, because it follows the recommended interpretation.

^26afor a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, (NRSV)

^26bbut the wife of another stalks a man’s very life. (NRSV)

6:26a–b

(NRSV) for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life: There are two main ways to interpret this verse:

There is a strong contrast between the low cost of sleeping with a prostitute (only a loaf of bread) and the high cost of sleeping with a married woman (one’s valuable life). The two lines are connected by the word “but.” For example:
A prostitute can be bought for a hunk of bread, but a married woman aims to snare a precious life. (NJB) (NJB, NRSV, REB, GNT, CEV, GW)
Sleeping with a prostitute and sleeping with a married woman both have bad results. The first act leads to poverty (the man is reduced to begging for a loaf of bread). The second act leads to death. The two lines are connected by the word “and.” For example:
For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, and sleeping with another man’s wife may cost you your very life. (NLT96) (BSB, NLT96, NIV, NASB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with a majority of versions and scholars. The purpose of the verse is to show the terrible danger of having an affair with a married woman. It is not to minimize the moral wrong of sleeping with prostitutes.

6:26a

For the levy of the prostitute is poverty,

Because what a prostitute charges for having sex is only the cost/price of a loaf of bread,
You^(sing) can hire a prostitute for the price of a meal,

(NRSV) for: The word for introduces the reason for not yielding to the temptation of sleeping with a married woman (described in 6:25).

(NRSV) a prostitute’s fee: The phrase a prostitute’s fee refers to what a prostitute charges for having sex. Another way to translate this phrase is:

A man can hire a prostitute for the price of… (GNT)

Be careful to choose a word or expression for prostitute carefully so that people are not embarrassed when they hear the word read aloud. Many languages use euphemisms such as “a woman who sells her body” or “a woman with a bad reputation.” For example:

A woman who sells her love can be bought for as little as… (CEV)

(NRSV) a loaf of bread: In Hebrew, the word loaf is literally “a round.” It refers to the small round pieces of bread known as “pocket” or “pita” bread. If this type of bread is unknown, a more general term may be used. For example:

a hunk of bread (NJB)

the price of a meal (CEV)

6:26b

and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

but another man’s wife is like a hunter who stalks his prey. She intends that her lovers will die.
but an immoral wife will cause you^(sing) to lose your valuable life.

(NRSV) but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life: The word stalks is often used of a hunter’s action in silently approaching his prey. This clause is a metaphor. A hunter stalks his prey in order to kill it. Similarly, the adulteress seduces her lovers with the intention that they will die.The hunting metaphor implies that the man will literally lose his life. That is the natural sense of the words. This view is supported by Toy, Murphy, Fox, and NET. However, Whybray (page 106) says that death is less likely than financial ruin, and certainly, 6:33 specifies only beating and loss of reputation.

A number of modern versions translate the nonfigurative meaning of the metaphor in a way that minimizes or omits this intention of the seductress to make her lovers die. For example:

adultery will cost him all he has (GNT)

sleeping with another man’s wife may cost you your very life (NLT96)

These versions probably translate this way in order to focus on the high cost of the action rather than the intention of the woman. However, the woman’s role is clearly in focus, so it is recommended that your translation make this clear. Some ways to make the woman’s role explicit without using a metaphor are:

but an adulteress will cause you to die

because of the immoral wife, you will lose your life

(NRSV) a man’s very life: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “the precious soul.” It means that the man’s life is very valuable. This is well expressed by the NJB:

a married woman aims to snare a precious life (NJB)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כִּ֤י

that/for/because/then/when

For here indicates that what follows is a reason for the commands in the previous verse. Use a connector in your language that makes it clear that what follows is a reason for what came before. Alternate translation: “Do not do those things because”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

בְעַד־אִשָּׁ֥ה זוֹנָ֗ה

fee woman/wife prostitute's

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to refer to the price that a person pays to have sex with a prostitute woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly or use a euphemism for this idea. Alternate translation: “the price to sleep with a prostitute woman”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

כִּכַּ֫ר לָ֥חֶם

loaf_of bread

In this culture, a loaf of bread was inexpensive daily food. A loaf of bread is a lump of flour dough that a person has shaped and baked. If your readers would not be familiar with bread you could use the name of an inexpensive food that is commonly eaten in your country or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “inexpensive food”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠אֵ֥שֶׁת אִ֑ישׁ

and_[the],wife_of (a)_man

Here Solomon implies that this wife of a man is an adulterous woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “but a married woman who commits adultery”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

נֶ֖פֶשׁ יְקָרָ֣ה תָצֽוּד

creature precious hunts