Proverbs 6:20–27
20 iMy son, keep thy father’s commandment,
And iforsake not the law of thy mother:
21 kBind them continually upon thine heart,
And ltie them about thy mneck.
22 nWhen thou goest, it shall lead thee;
nWhen thou sleepest, it oshall keep thee;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is pa ||lamp; and the law is plight;
And ppreproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
From qthe flattery ||of the tongue of a rstrange woman.
25 sLust not after her beauty in thine heart;
Neither let her take thee with ther eyelids.
26 For uby means of a whorish woman a man is brought to xa piece of bread:
And †the adulteress will yhunt for zthe precious life.
27 Can a man atake bfire in chis bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — The New International Version (NIV)
20 My son, keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — English Standard Version (ESV)
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — New Living Translation (NLT)
20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
24 It will keep you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
25 Don’t lust for her beauty.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — New Century Version (NCV)
20 My son, keep your father’s commands,
and don’t forget your mother’s teaching.
21 Keep their words in mind forever
as though you had them tied around your neck.
22 They will guide you when you walk.
They will guard you when you sleep.
They will speak to you when you are awake.
23 These commands are like a lamp;
this teaching is like a light.
And the correction that comes from them
will help you have life.
24 They will keep you from sinful women
and from the pleasing words of another man’s unfaithful wife.
25 Don’t desire her because she is beautiful.
Don’t let her capture you by the way she looks at you.
26 A prostitute will treat you like a loaf of bread,
and a woman who takes part in adultery may cost you your life.
27 You cannot carry hot coals against your chest
without burning your clothes,
Proverbs 6:20–27 — American Standard Version (ASV)
20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thy heart;
Tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee;
When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light;
And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
From the flattery of the foreigner’s tongue.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart;
Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread;
And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
20 My son, observe thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother; 21 bind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about thy neck: 22 when thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids; 26 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. 27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
20 My son,
obey the command of your father,
and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.
21 Fasten them on your heart forever.
Hang them around your neck.
22 When you walk around, they will lead you.
When you lie down, they will watch over you.
When you wake up, they will talk to you
23 because the command is a lamp,
the teachings are a light,
and the warnings from discipline are the path of life
24 to keep you from an evil woman
and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart.
Do not let her catch you with her eyes.
26 A prostitute’s price is ⸤only⸥ a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts for ⸤your⸥ life itself.
27 Can a man carry fire in his lap
without burning his clothes?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,
and corrective discipline is the way to life.
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,
from the flattering tongue of a stranger.
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,
but an adulteress goes after a precious life.
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
20 My child, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the wife of another,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life.
27 Can fire be carried in the bosom
without burning one’s clothes?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
20 My child, keep the commandment of your father,
and do not disregard the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them on your heart continually;
tie them upon your neck.
22 When you walk, she will lead you,
When you lie down, she will watch over you,
and when you awake, she will converse with you.
23 For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,
and the way of life is the reproof of discipline,
24 in order to preserve you from an evil woman,
from the smoothness of the tongue of an adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart;
may she not capture you with her eyelashes.
26 For the price of a woman, a prostitute, is the price of a loaf of bread,
but the woman belonging to a man hunts precious life.
27 Can a man carry fire in his lap,
and his clothes not burn?
Proverbs 6:20–27 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
20 My son, keep your father’s commands.
Don’t turn away from your mother’s teaching.
21 Tie them to your heart forever.
Put them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you.
When you sleep, they will watch over you.
When you wake up, they will speak to you.
23 Your father’s commands are like a lamp.
Your mother’s teaching is like a light.
And the training that corrects you
leads to life.
24 It keeps you from a sinful woman.
It keeps you from the smooth tongue of a woman who commits adultery.
25 Don’t hunger in your heart after her beauty.
Don’t let her eyes capture you.
26 A prostitute leaves you with only a loaf of bread.
Another man’s wife hunts your very life.
27 You can’t shovel fire into your lap
without burning your clothes.
Proverbs 6:20–27 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
20 My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
21 Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?