6:24
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. Although both lines express the same general idea, the second line adds more details about the “immoral woman.”
24a
to keep you from the evil woman,
24b
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
6:24a–b
to keep you from: Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to preserve from (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
protect from (Contemporary English Version)
It expresses the reason why the young man should obey good teaching: this teaching will prevent him from getting involved with an adulterous woman.
the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress: In Hebrew, the phrase the evil woman is literally “woman of evil.” It refers to bad or immoral women in general, not to a specific woman. For example:
bad women (Good News Translation)
The parallel phrase the adulteress is one word in Hebrew. Other ways to translate it are:
adulterous woman (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
another man’s unfaithful wife (New Century Version)
The same word is used in 2:16b.
6:24b
the smooth tongue of the adulteress: This phrase is a figure of speech (metonymy) that refers to the flattering words used by adulterous women in order to seduce someone. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the pleasing words of another man’s unfaithful wife (New Century Version)
-or-
the seductive words of other men’s wives (Good News Translation)
-or-
the flattering words of someone else’s wife (Contemporary English Version)
General Comment on 6:24a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. For example:
They will protect you from the flattery of the immoral wives of other men.
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