Proverbs 6:25–28
Can a man carry fire in his lap without his clothes burning?
Study it word by word25Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her take you with her eyelids.
26For on account of a prostitute one comes to a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife hunts the precious soul.
27Can a man carry fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28Or can a man walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?
In its context
23For the commandment is a lamp, and the instruction a light, and the reproofs of correction are the way of life,
24to keep you from the evil woman, from the smoothness of the tongue of the foreign woman.
…
29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.
30People do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry;
Its words in the original
- תַּחְמֹדtachmod· desire
Desire, find something attractive; "desirable", pleasant to look at. The same verb is "covet" in the commandments.
- יָפְיָyafya· beauty
Beauty, loveliness.
- לְבָבֶlevave· heart
Heart: the inner part of the person, where one thinks, feels and decides.
- תִּקָּחֲtikaach· take
Take: seize, take along, receive. Also "take a wife" (marry).
- עַפְעַפֶּיafape· eyelid
An eyelid; also an eyelash. In poetry, "the eyelids of the dawn" are the first rays of morning.
- אִשָּׁהisha· woman, wife
Woman; with a possessive ("his woman"), wife. In Hebrew it is "ishah", which sounds like "ish", man.
- זוֹנָהzona· prostitute oneself
Prostitute oneself; figuratively, be unfaithful to God by going after other gods. As a noun, a prostitute.
- כִּכַּרkikar· plain, talent, loaf
Something round: a region (the plain around the Jordan), a round loaf of bread, or a "talent", the largest weight for metals (about 34 kilograms).
- לָחֶםlachem· bread, food
Bread; in a wide sense, food.
- אִישׁish· man, husband, each
Man, male; with a possessive, husband. Also "each one", "anyone". It is "ish", distinct from "adam" (human being); it is used for the man in contrast with the woman ("ishah").
- נֶפֶשׁnefesh· soul, living being, life
A breathing being, a living being. It is translated "living being" (people and animals), "life" (when living or dying is at stake), "person" (in counts and laws), "soul" (the person at the innermost: desires, joy, anguish) or "myself". In the Old Testament it names the whole living being, not only a part of it.
- יְקָרָהyekara· precious, costly, rare
Precious, of great value; also "rare," because what is scarce is highly valued.
- תָצוּדtatsud· hunt
Hunt; figuratively, hunt people.
- יַחְתֶּהyachte· seize; take up (coals)
To take hold of, to seize; said above all of taking up coals from the fire.
- אֵשׁesh· fire
Fire. In the Bible it often goes with the presence of God (the bush, Sinai).
- חֵיקchek· bosom, lap
Bosom, lap: the chest and arms where one holds someone close.
- בְגָדָיvegaday· garment, clothing
Garment, clothing, cloth. (A word with the same letters means "treachery".)
- תִשָּׂרַפְנָהtisarafna· burn
Burn; bake in the fire.
- יְהַלֵּךְyehalech· go, walk
Go, walk, come. Figuratively, the way one lives ("walk with God").
- גֶּחָלִיםgechalim· coal, ember
A coal: a burning piece of wood or charcoal.
- רַגְלָיraglay· foot
Foot; the foot of an animal; also a step.
- תִכָּוֶינָהtikavena· scorch, burn
To burn, to scorch; to leave the skin blistered by fire.