5:20

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

20a
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress ?

20b or embrace the bosom of a stranger ?

5:20a–b

Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?: These are parallel rhetorical questions. They advise the young man not to become sexually involved with another man’s wife. The implied answer is that there is no sensible reason for doing so, because his own wife is enough to fulfill his sexual needs. The word captivated has the same meaning as in 5:19. To embrace the bosom of a stranger is a euphemism. It means to have sex with her, not just to give her a hug.

General Comment on 5:20a–b

Because these two questions are parallel, it may be more natural in some languages to combine and/or reorder them. For example:

My son, what reason would you have for making love with another man’s wife and being delighted with her beauty?

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