Proverbs 6:25

Pro 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

Ver. 25. Lust not after her beauty.] Aureliae Orestillae praeter formam nihil unquam bonus laudavit. Aurelia Orestilla had beauty indeed, but nothing else that was praise worthy, saith the historian. {a} How much better Aspasia Milesia, of whom Aelian {b} reports that she was fair and modest. And the Lady Jane Gray, whose excellent beauty was adorned with all variety of virtues, as a clear sky with stars, as a princely diadem with jewels. Some women are like Helen without, Hecuba within; but it is a small praise to have a good face and a naughty nature - a beautiful countenance and a base life.

In thine heart.] {See Trapp on "Mat 5:28"} {See Trapp on "1Co 7:34"}

Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.] Si nescis, oculi sunt in amore duces. Some {c} render it, Neque te capiat splendoribus suis; let her not take time with her glitterings, and gay habiliments, or head tires. Cyprian and Augustine say that superfluous attire is worse than whoredom, because whoredom only corrupts chastity, but this corrupts nature. Jerome saith, that if women adorn themselves so as to provoke men to lust after them, though no evil follow upon it, yet those women shall suffer eternal damnation, because they offered poison to others, though none would drink it.

{a} Salust.

{b} Kαλη και σοφη; AeIian, Var. Hist., lib. xii. cap. 1.

{c} Propers, Pagnin.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With her wanton looks and gesture.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

One of the cautions of this instruction, avoid alluring beauty.

take--or, "ensnare."

eyelids--By painting the lashes, women enhanced beauty.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 25. Neither let her take thee with her eye-lids.] It is a very general custom in the East to paint the eye-lids. I have many Asiatic drawings in which this is expressed. They have a method of polishing the eyes with a preparation of antimony, so that they appear with an indescribable lustre; or, as one who mentions the fact from observation, "Their eyes appear to be swimming in bliss."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. eyelids] Painted probably after the Eastern fashion. Comp. 2Ki_9:30. “They paint or blacken the eyelids with kǒhl, and prolong the application in a descending pencil, so as to lengthen and reduce the eye in appearance to what is called almond shape. The practice is extremely ancient, for such painted eyes are found in the oldest Egyptian tombs. It imparts a peculiar brilliancy to the eye and a languishing amorous cast to the whole countenance.” Thomson, Land and Book, p. 461.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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, Luk 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 jewels, his gold and silver; having stripped him of his goods and livelihood, though some think that is here intended; she lays snares for him, and draws him into those evils which bring him into the hands of her husband, who avenges himself by slaying the adulterer; or into the hands of the civil magistrate, by whom this sin of adultery was punished with death; nay, is the occasion of the ruin of his precious and immortal soul to all eternity: the precious souls of men are part of the wares of antichrist, Rev 18:13.

(n) "animam", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Eyelids - Possibly pointing to the Eastern custom of painting the eyes on the outside with kohl so as to give brightness and languishing expression.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; do not give way to, nor delight thyself with, unchaste thoughts or affections. Compare Mat 5:28.

With her eyelids; either with her beauty, which consists much in the eyes; or rather, with her amours and wanton glances.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Take thee with her eyelids — Captivate with her eyelids. Oriental women paint their eyebrows and eyelids, giving, as is thought, great artificial beauty to them. A writer who had seen them says, “Their eyes appear to be swimming in bliss. Arab poetry is full of praise of this kind of beauty.” — Bible Commentary. See note and illustration on Job_42:14, page 301.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To keep thee from the evil woman. The specific object to which the discourse was tending. The "commandment" and the "law" illuminate the path of true life generally, but in a special degree they, if attended to, will guard the young against sins of impurity, fornication, and adultery. The evil woman (Hebrew, esheth ra); strictly, a woman of evil, or vileness, or of a wicked disposition, addicted to evil in an extraordinary degree; ra being here a substantive standing in a genitive relation to esheth, Pro_2:12, "The way of evil (derek ra)." Cf. also tah"pukoth ra, perverstates mali, (Pro_2:14) and makh"sh"voth ra, cogitationes mali, (Pro_15:26) and anshey ra, viri mali. (Pro_28:5) The Vulgate, however, gives an adjectival force to ra rendering, it muliere mala. The LXX apo gunaikov , i.e. "from the married woman," arises from reading rea, "a companion," for ra, "evil." From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman; i.e. from her enticements; Hebrew, mekhel"kath lashon noh"riyyah; literally, "from the smoothness of a strange tongue," as in the margin. Zockler, however, proposes an emendation of the Masoretic text, and substitutes the construct case, l"shon, for the absolute, lashon, rendering as in the Authorized Version, on the ground that the emphasis lies, not on the "tongue," which would be the case if we render "of a strange tongue," but on "the strange woman," who is the subject of the discourse, as in Pro_2:16 and Pro_5:20. But nok"riyyah is feminine of the adjective nok"ri, ann in agreement with lashon, which, though common, is more frequently feminine (Gesenius), and hence the two words may stand in agreement. The marginal reading is to be preferred (Wordsworth). Again, me-khel"kath, the construct ease of khel"kah, literally, "smoothness," and metaphorically flattery, with the prefix me, forms one member of the phrase, while the compound expression, lashon nok"riyyah, forms the second. Ewald and Bertheau render, "from the smooth-tongued, the strange woman," thus connecting mekhel"kath lashon, and regarding nok"riyyah as a separate and distinct idea. They agree with Symmachus and Theodotion, apo leioglwssou xenhv , i.e. "from the smooth-tongued or flattering stranger." So the Vulgate, a blanda lingua extraneae, i.e. from the smooth tongue of the strange woman. The LXX again favours the marginal reading, apo diabolhv glwsshv allotriav , "from the slander of a strange tongue." So the Chaldee Paraphrase. The Syriac reads, "from the accusation of a woman of a strange tongue," i.e. who uses a foreign language. If, however, the Authorized Version be retained, the Hebrew nok"riyyah will, as in other passages, mean "an adulteress" (Gesenius); as in Pro_5:20 Pro_7:5 Pro_23:27. Under any circumstances, we have here attributed to the tongue what, in fact, belongs to the woman. It is against the enticements and blandishments of a woman of depraved moral character that the "commandment" and "law" form a safeguard to youth.

Lust not after her beauty in thine heart. The admonition of this verse embraces the two sides of the subject the external allurement and the internal predisposition to vice. Lust not after (Hebrew, al-takh"mod ); strictly, desire not, since the verb khamad is properly" to desire, or covet." The same verb is used in Exo_20:17, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour"s wife," and Exo_34:24, "Neither shall any man desire thy land". (cf. Mic_2:2 and Pro_12:12) In Psa_68:19 Isa_1:29 Isa_53:2, it has the sense of taking delight in anything. It may be questioned whether it ever has the strong meaning given in the Vulgate (non concupiscat) and adopted in the Authorized Version, "to lust after" (Holden). Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus render mh epiyumhshv . The use of khamad here reveals the warning of the Decalogue. In thine heart; Hebrew, bil"va-veka . corresponding to the en th kardia autou of Mat_5:28. The admonition is a warning to repress the very first inclinations to unchaste desires. They may be unobserved and undetected by ethers, but they are known to ourselves, and the first duty of repressing them calls for an act of determination and will on our part. Our Lord teaches, (Mat_5:28, cited above) "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." The LXX reading is Mh se nikhsh kallouv epiyumia , "Let not the desire of beauty conquer thee." Neither let her take thee with her eyelids; i.e. do not let her captivate thee with her amorous glances. Take. The Hebrew verb, lakakh, is "to captivate" with blandishments, "to allure, beguile"; (cf. Pro_11:30) LXX, mhde agreuyhv . With her eyelids (Hebrew, b"aph"appeyah); or perhaps more literally, with her eyelashes (Zockler). The eyelids; Hebrew, aph"appayim, dual of aph"aph, so called from their rapid, volatile motion, are here compared with nets, as by Philostratus ("Epistles:" Gunaiki ), who speaks of "the nets of the eyes (ta twn ommatwn diktua )." The eyelids are the instruments by which the amorous woman beguiles or catches her victims. She allures him by her glances. So St. Jerome says, "The eye of a harlot is the snare of her lover." The wanton glance is expressed in the Vulgate by nutibus illius; cf. "The whoredom of a woman may be known in her haughty looks and eyelids" (Ecc 26:9). Milton ("Paradise Lost," 11:620) speaks of the daughters of men "rolling the eye," amongst other things, in order to captivate the sons of God. Piscator and Mercerus understand the eyelids as standing metonymically for the beauty of the eye; and Bayne, for the general adornment of the head in order to attract attention. Allusion may possibly be made to the custom of Eastern women painting the eyelids to give brilliancy and expression; cf. 2Ki_9:30 (Wordsworth). A striking parallel to the verse before us occurs in Propertius, lib. 1. "Eleg." 1., "Cynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis.

Vers. 25-35. Warning against adultery.

No candid student can ignore the fact that the view of this sin, and the motives deterrent from it, are of far lower order than those of pure Christianity. They do not rise above those of Horace, or any general morality of men of the world. In the sense that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul is in communion with God, we reach that loftier point of view whence the odium of the sin is clearly discernible, and the motives against it are the highest that can be known.

I SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESIRE. (Ver. 25) This is the general law. (Jam_1:14, Jam_1:15) Hence the last command of the Decalogue. (Exo_20:17 Mat_5:28) The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our possession, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. The beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. We must not speak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal.

II ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS,

1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26) This is a commonplace of observation. Excess in one passion affects the whole moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish away her honour will be reckless of other waste.

2. She is a spendthrift of her lovers life. The Hebrew designates the soul or life as dear, or costly. After making havoc of his possessions, she preys upon his life, more precious than all.

3. The deadly certainty of those results of such liaisons. (Vers. 27-29) By two impassioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest.

4. The further certainty of penal consequences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not overlooked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or fivefold. (Exo_21:36 Exo_22:1, sqq.; cf. Luk_19:8) The "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prosecution with all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape punishment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lover (ver. 32).

5. Other risks of detection. Castigation and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33).

Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy, which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35).

1. The lower motive fear of consequences is the most powerful deterrent from crime.

2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relation to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting.

3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil, that is an accident; the essence of the clime is in the wrong done to the soul. J.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eye-lids - With her wanton glances,

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

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 her (the adulteress's) coquettish ogling and amorous winking. In the reason added, beginning with כּי בעד־ (thus it is to be punctuated), there is the appositional connection אשּׁה זונה, Gesen. 113; the idea of זונה goes over into 26b. "לחם כּכּר [ = כּרכּר, R. kr, to round, vid., at Gen 49:5], properly a circle of bread, is a small round piece of bread, such as is still baked in Italy (pagnotta) and in the East (Arab. ḳurṣ), here an expression for the smallest piece" (Fl.). בּעד (constr. of בּעד), as Job 2:4; Isa 32:14, is used in the sense of ὑπέρ, pro, and with עד there is connected the idea of the coming down to this low point. Ewald, Bertheau explain after the lxx, τιμὴ γὰρ πόρνης ὅση καὶ ἑνὸς ἄρτου, γυνὴ δὲ ἀνδρῶν τιμίας ψυχὰς ἀγρεύει. But nothing is said here of price (reward); the parallelism is synonymous, not antithetic: he is doubly threatened with loss who enters upon such a course. The adulterer squanders his means (Pro 29:3) to impoverishment (vid., the mention of a loaf of bread in the description of poverty Sa1 2:36), and a man's wife (but at the same time seeking converse with another) makes a prey of a precious soul; for whoever consents to adulterous converse with her, loses not perhaps his means, but certainly freedom, purity, dignity of soul, yea, his own person. צוּד comprehends - as צידון, fisher's town [Zidon], Arab. ṣyâd, hunter and fisher, show - all kinds of hunting, but in Hebr. is used only of the hunting of wild beasts. The root-meaning (cf. צדיּה) is to spy, to seize.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Solomon here gives our Lord’s own rule. (Mat 5:28 . Compare Jas 1:14-15 ; Job 31:1 ; Psa 119:37 ; also, Sir 9:3-5 .) Resist lust in its first rising in the heart. By vain beauty,†1 and wanton eyes,†2 many a deluded victim has been brought to a piece of bread.†3 Like the insatiable huntsman, who never loses sight of his prey, till he has pursued it to death; never does the seducer cease to solicit, till she has hunted for the precious life. (Gen 39:14 . Jdg 16:18-21 . Compare Eze 13:18, Eze 13:20-21 .) Yet neither the present miseries, nor the certain end, of this wretched course, can draw away the foot, that has dared to tread the forbidden path. Self-confidence sees and fears no danger. ’I can look to myself; I need not go too far, and I shall get no harm.’ But the temptation acts upon a congenial nature like fuel, not water, on the fire. As well might we expect to take fire into our bosom, and our clothes not be burned, or to go upon hot coals, and not be burned; as to go willfully into sin, and to escape the punishment.†4 Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. ’The fire of lust kindles the fire of hell.’†5 He cannot afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about him, would willfully light up the sparks? Heedlessly to rush into temptation, is to provoke the corruption, which is too ready to stir of itself. The influence of temptation, though not always sensible, is immediate. The man must be in haste, who would effectually resist it. Beware of suspicious familiarities on the borders of sin. (Gen 39:10 . Rom 13:13 . 1Th 5:22 .) The temptation to criminality in this atmosphere is fearful. (2Sa 11:2-4 . Compare Sir 9:8-9 .) Whosoever toucheth shall not be innocent. (Gen 20:6 ; Gen 39:9 . 1Co 7:1 .)

Footnotes:

†1 Pro 31:30. Gen 6:2 ; Gen 39:6 . 2Sa 11:2 . Compare Sir 25:21 .

†2 Gen 39:7. 2Ki 9:30 . Margin Isa 3:16 . 2Pe 2:14 . Compare Paradise Lost, book xi. 1, 620.

†3 Pro 5:10; Pro 29:3 . 1Sa 2:26, 1Sa 2:36 . Job 31:9, Job 31:12 . Luk 15:13, Luk 15:30 . Compare the difference between Solomon’s chaste and unholy age. 1Ki 10:21, 1Ki 10:27, with 1Ki 12:4 .

†4 Exo 20:14, Exo 20:17 . Lev 20:10 . 2Sa 12:9 . Mal 3:5 . Even as a sin of ignorance it was liable to be visited. Gen 12:15-18 ; Gen 20:1-6 ; Gen 26:10 . So strictly has the holy Lord fenced his own ordinance! See Mede’s Sermon on Chap. iv. 23.

†5 Henry in loco. Compare Job 31:12 ; Jas 1:14-15 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

do not let her captivate you And let her not take away your wisdom from you with her eyelids that she winks at you.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.