Proverbs 6:27
in Proverbs 6Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
KJV
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
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This verse in Proverbs 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThat thou mayest not say, What harm is there in the eyes, when there is no necessity that he should be perverted who looks? he shows thee that desire is a fire, and the flesh is like a garment. The latter is an easy prey, and the former is a tyrant. And when anything harmful is not only taken within, but also held fast, it will not go forth again until it has made an exit for itself. For he who looks upon a woman, even though he escape the temptation, does not come away pure of all lust.
This site's exposition
Can a man embrace fire
on Proverbs 6:27-29
Two questions, fire held against the clothes and feet set on hot coals, are applied directly to “he who sleeps with another man’s wife”. The logic is cause and effect: this sin carries its consequence in the act itself. The comparison closes: “no one who touches her will go unpunished”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Solomon warns us against familiarity with such people when he says, "Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn? Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" And again: "The price of a harlot is …
We must notice the apostle's prudence. He did not say, it is good not to have a wife, but it is good not to touch a woman: as though there were danger even in the touch, as though he who touched her would not escape from her who "hunts for the precious life" and causes the young man's understanding to fly away. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? As then he who touches fire is instantly burned, so by the mere touch the peculiar nature of man and woman is perceived, and the difference of sex is understood.
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
She is a net to those who lust and consent. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "On account of the beauty of a woman many have perished." It is difficult "to carry fire in one's bosom without one's garments being burned."
Can a man hide fire in his bosom, etc.? It is permitted only to him who is solidified in the Catholic faith, such that he cannot be separated from it by the sweetness of words or cunning, to read the books of heretics.
Do not voluntarily make trial of your mind with lewd reflections which tempt you, because in this way wise men have been darkened and made fools. Do not store a flame in your bosom.Without harsh tribulations of the flesh it is difficult for untrained youth …
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
When different sexes are placed together, they derive pleasure from those instincts with which they were born, and the natural flame is lighted by unnatural contact if it touches something inflammable. Who can ever take fire to his bosom and not be burned? Fire and …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Can a man take fire in his bosom,....
We are here dissuaded from sin very much by arguments borrowed from our secular interests, for it is not only represented as damning in the other world, but as impoverishing in this.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Can a man take fire - These were proverbial expressions, the meaning of which was plain to every capacity.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲיַחְתֶּ֤ה | hayachteh | ¿ will he snatch up | H2846 → | |
| אִ֓ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֵ֬שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| בְּחֵיק֑וֹ | becheiko | in bosom his | H2436 → | 38 times |
| וּ֝בְגָדָ֗יו | uvegadav | and garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשָּׂרַֽפְנָה׃ | tisarafnah | will they be burned? | H8313 → |
הֲיַחְתֶּ֤ה¿ will he snatch up
hayachtehH2846 →
אִ֓ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֵ֬שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בְּחֵיק֑וֹin bosom his
becheikoH2436 →38 times
וּ֝בְגָדָ֗יוand garments his
uvegadavH899 →217 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשָּׂרַֽפְנָה׃will they be burned?
tisarafnahH8313 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 3:5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:21
Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Jeremiah 9:3–8
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- Proverbs 12:18
Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Psalms 17:10
They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.
- Proverbs 18:21
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 41:3; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 2; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Leander of Seville, THE TRAINING OF NUNS 2 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.