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Proverbs 6:29

in Proverbs 6

So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.

KJV

So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

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This verse in Proverbs 6

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

So he that goeth In to his neighbor’s wife - As sure as he who takes fire into his bosom, or who walks upon live coals, is burnt thereby; so sure he that seduces his neighbour’s wife shall be guilty. That is, he shall be punished.

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”.

This site's exposition

no one who touches her will go unpunished

Clarke joins the fire, the coals and the adulterer in one certainty: the man who sleeps with another man's wife will be guilty and punished. One touch brings the verdict.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

. [1.] He is in imminent danger of adultery, as he that takes fire in his bosom, or goes upon hot coals, is in danger of being burnt. The way of this sin is down-hill, and those that venture upon the temptations to it hardly escape the sin itself.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

So he that goeth into his neighbour's wife,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כֵּ֗ן[is] thus

    kenH3651 →771 times

  • הַ֭בָּאthe [one who] goes

    haba'H935 →2568 times

  • אֶל־into

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֵ֣שֶׁת[the] wife of

    ʾeshetH802 →781 times

  • רֵעֵ֑הוּneighbor his

    reehuH7453 →188 times

  • לֹ֥אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יִ֝נָּקֶ֗הhe will go unpunished

    yinakehH5352 →44 times

  • כָּֽל־every

    kal-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ<the> [one who] touches

    hanogea'H5060 →

  • בָּֽהּ׃<in> her

    bah

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

17 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Corinthians 7:1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.4 worksGenesis 26:11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”4 worksRuth 2:9Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”4 worksLeviticus 20:10If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.3 worksEzekiel 22:11One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.3 worksMalachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.3 works
The other 11 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 12:9–10Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.3 works2 Samuel 11:3–4So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”2 works2 Samuel 16:21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”2 worksJeremiah 5:8–9They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife.2 worksGenesis 12:18–19So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?2 worksGenesis 26:10–11“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”2 worksProverbs 16:5Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished.2 worksGenesis 12:15When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.2 worksGenesis 39:8But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.2 worksGenesis 20:4–7Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?1 worksGenesis 39:9No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Malachi 3:5

    “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…

    it leads to

    • James 5:8–9

      You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

    • Hebrews 13:4

      Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

    • Deuteronomy 5:11

      You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

    • James 5:4

      Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

    • Deuteronomy 27:19

      ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

  • Through

    1 Corinthians 7:1

    Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 7:8

      Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am.

  • Through

    Leviticus 20:10

    If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.

    it leads to

    • John 8:4–5

      and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

    • Deuteronomy 22:22–24

      If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 6 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 6 →