complete verse (Proverbs 6:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 6:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “An adulterer or another man’s wife will make you lose/spoil your life.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A whore can be bought
    for the price of a piece of bread.
    But you cannot make
    an adulterous woman your own
    even if you pay everything you own.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Having-sex with a woman who sells her body can-be-paid with the price of bread, but having-sex with the wife of others you (sing.) will-pay by your (sing.) own life.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because the value of bread is what-you (sing.)-will-pay to a prostitute, but your (sing.) life is precarious with a woman who has a spouse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 6:26

The connector “for” renders the Hebrew word that marks this verse as the reason for avoiding the temptation described in verse 25.

“A harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread”: Note that Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint; for the literal Hebrew see the Revised Standard Version footnote. The sense of this line seems to be that a prostitute costs no more than a piece of bread. “A harlot” is “a prostitute” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most versions), a woman who exchanges sex relations with a man for goods or money. A word for “prostitute” should be carefully chosen so that the reading of the word in public does not cause embarrassment. In some languages “prostitute” is expressed by expressions such as “woman who takes men to her house,” “woman they all sleep with,” or “woman who sells herself.”

“May be hired” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood, according to Revised Standard Version. Note, however, that New Revised Standard Version says “for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread.” The word rendered “loaf” is literally “a round,” which refers to the small round pieces of Middle Eastern bread, sometimes called “pocket bread.” This is because the two sides of the bread form a pocket when torn open. Where such shapes of bread are unknown, it is better to say “a piece of bread.” New Jerusalem Bible has “a hunk of bread.” Where “bread” is not used it is advisable to shift to a more general word such as “a bit of food” or to use a bit of the most commonly eaten food in the area where the language is spoken.

“But an adulteress stalks a man’s very life”: “But” introduces the contrast between the two kinds of women the man is entangled with. “Adulteress” is literally “a man’s wife.” Revised Standard Version “stalks” translates the word for hunt as the activity of a hunter. It means to approach the prey or victim silently. “A man’s very life” is literally “the precious soul,” where “precious” in regard to material things means “highly prized” or “costly.” The costly, valuable life in the second line is contrasted to the almost worthless scrap of bread in the first line.

There are two ways to interpret this verse:

(1) a prostitute costs little compared to what a man will pay for having relations with another man’s wife, or
(2) a man having sex with a prostitute is reduced to nearly nothing, but having sex with another’s wife will cost him his life.

Some translations that follow the first interpretation are Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “For a prostitute you pay no more than for bread, but for another man’s wife you will pay with your life”; Contemporary English Version “A woman who sells her love can be bought for as little as the price of a meal. But making love to another man’s wife will cost you everything”; and Bible en français courant “It is the case that for a prostitute one gives up a little bread, but for a married woman one risks his whole life.”

Following the second interpretation are translations such as La Bible du Semeur “Because of a wicked woman, one can be reduced to a scrap of bread, and the adulterous woman puts at risk a precious life” and Traduction Œcuménique de la Bible “For a prostitute a man is reduced to a crumb of bread, but a married woman catches a precious life in a trap.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 6:26

6:26

There is a contrast between the two lines of this verse. The New Revised Standard Version has been used as the source line, because it follows the recommended interpretation.

26a for a prostitute ’s fee is only a loaf of bread, (New Revised Standard Version)

26b but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life. (New Revised Standard Version)

6:26a–b

(New Revised Standard Version) for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life: There are two main ways to interpret this verse:

(1) There is a strong contrast between the low cost of sleeping with a prostitute (only a loaf of bread) and the high cost of sleeping with a married woman (one’s valuable life). The two lines are connected by the word “but.” For example:

A prostitute can be bought for a hunk of bread, but a married woman aims to snare a precious life. (New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) Sleeping with a prostitute and sleeping with a married woman both have bad results. The first act leads to poverty (the man is reduced to begging for a loaf of bread). The second act leads to death. The two lines are connected by the word “and.” For example:

For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, and sleeping with another man’s wife may cost you your very life. (New Living Translation (1996))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with a majority of versions and scholars. The purpose of the verse is to show the terrible danger of having an affair with a married woman. It is not to minimize the moral wrong of sleeping with prostitutes.

6:26a

(New Revised Standard Version) for: The word for introduces the reason for not yielding to the temptation of sleeping with a married woman (described in 6:25).

(New Revised Standard Version) a prostitute’s fee: The phrase a prostitute’s fee refers to what a prostitute charges for having sex. Another way to translate this phrase is:

A man can hire a prostitute for the price of… (Good News Translation)

Be careful to choose a word or expression for prostitute carefully so that people are not embarrassed when they hear the word read aloud. Many languages use euphemisms such as “a woman who sells her body” or “a woman with a bad reputation.” For example:

A woman who sells her love can be bought for as little as… (Contemporary English Version)

(New Revised Standard Version) a loaf of bread: In Hebrew, the word loaf is literally “a round.” It refers to the small round pieces of bread known as “pocket” or “pita” bread. If this type of bread is unknown, a more general term may be used. For example:

a hunk of bread (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the price of a meal (Contemporary English Version)

6:26b

(New Revised Standard Version) but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life: The word stalks is often used of a hunter’s action in silently approaching his prey. This clause is a metaphor. A hunter stalks his prey in order to kill it. Similarly, the adulteress seduces her lovers with the intention that they will die.

A number of modern versions translate the nonfigurative meaning of the metaphor in a way that minimizes or omits this intention of the seductress to make her lovers die. For example:

adultery will cost him all he has (Good News Translation)
-or-
sleeping with another man’s wife may cost you your very life (New Living Translation (1996))

These versions probably translate this way in order to focus on the high cost of the action rather than the intention of the woman. However, the woman’s role is clearly in focus, so it is recommended that your translation make this clear. Some ways to make the woman’s role explicit without using a metaphor are:

but an adulteress will cause you to die
-or-
because of the immoral wife, you will lose your life

(New Revised Standard Version) a man’s very life: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “the precious soul.” It means that the man’s life is very valuable. This is well expressed by the New Jerusalem Bible:

a married woman aims to snare a precious life (New Jerusalem Bible)

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