Proverbs 6:6-35
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard.
Consider her ways, and be wise; 7 which having no chief, overseer, or ruler, 8 provides her bread in the summer,
and gathers her food in the harvest. 9 How long will you sleep, sluggard?
When will you arise out of your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 so your poverty will come as a robber,
and your scarcity as an armed man.
12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity,
is he who walks with a perverse mouth; 13 who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
who motions with his fingers; 14 in whose heart is perverseness,
who devises evil continually,
who always sows discord. 15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly.
He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy. 16 There are six things which Yahweh hates;
yes, seven which are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood; 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are swift in running to mischief, 19 a false witness who utters lies,
and he who sows discord among brothers.
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them continually on your heart.
Tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, it will lead you.
When you sleep, it will watch over you.
When you awake, it will talk with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp,
and the law is light.
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, 24 to keep you from the immoral woman,
from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue. 25 Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart,
neither let her captivate you with her eyelids. 26 For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
The adulteress hunts for your precious life. 27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals,
and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife.
Whoever touches her will not be unpunished. 30 Men don’t despise a thief,
if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry: 31 but if he is found, he shall restore seven times.
He shall give all the wealth of his house. 32 He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding.
He who does it destroys his own soul. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor.
His reproach will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
He won’t spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He won’t regard any ransom,
neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 6:6-35
Commentary on Proverbs 6:6-11
(Read Proverbs 6:6-11)
Diligence in business is every man's wisdom and duty; not so much that he may attain worldly wealth, as that he may not be a burden to others, or a scandal to the church. The ants are more diligent than slothful men. We may learn wisdom from the meanest insects, and be shamed by them. Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people. Thus life runs to waste; and poverty, though at first at a distance, gradually draws near, like a traveller; and when it arrives, is like an armed man, too strong to be resisted. All this may be applied to the concerns of our souls. How many love their sleep of sin, and their dreams of worldly happiness! Shall we not seek to awaken such? Shall we not give diligence to secure our own salvation?
Commentary on Proverbs 6:12-19
(Read Proverbs 6:12-19)
If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described. He says and does every thing artfully, and with design. His ruin shall come without warning, and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God. Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God, which are hurtful to the comfort of human life. These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices, and watch and pray against them; and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:20-35
(Read Proverbs 6:20-35)
The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions. Let not faithful reproofs ever make us uneasy. When we consider how much this sin abounds, how heinous adultery is in its own nature, of what evil consequence it is, and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated. Let us notice the subjects of this chapter. Let us remember Him who willingly became our Surety, when we were strangers and enemies. And shall Christians, who have such prospects, motives, and examples, be slothful and careless? Shall we neglect what is pleasing to God, and what he will graciously reward? May we closely watch every sense by which poison can enter our minds or affections.