adultery

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The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adultery” in English (here etymologically meaning “to alter”) is typically understood as “marital infidelity.” It is (back-) translated in the following ways:

  • Highland Totonac: “to do something together”
  • Yucateco: “pair-sin”
  • Ngäbere: “robbing another’s half self-possession” (compare “fornication” which is “robbing self-possession,” that is, to rob what belongs to a person)
  • Kaqchikel, Chol: “to act like a dog” (see also licentiousness)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “to measure the depth of the river of (another’s) marriage”
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “married people using what is not theirs” (compare “fornication” which is “unmarried people using what is not theirs”) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Purari: “play hands with” or “play eyes with”
  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “talk secretly with spouses of our fellows”
  • Isthmus Zapotec: “go in with other people’s spouses”
  • Tzeltal: “practice illicit relationship with women”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “live with some one who isn’t your wife”
  • Central Tarahumara: “sleep with a strange partner”
  • Hopi: “tamper with marriage” (source for this and seven above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • German: Ehebrecher or “marriage breaker” / Ehe brechen or “breaking of marriage” (source: Zetzsche)
  • In Falam Chin the term for “adultery” is the phrase for “to share breast” which relates to adultery by either sex. (Source: David Clark)
  • In Ixcatlán Mazatec a specification needs to be made to include both genders. (Source: Robert Bascom)
  • Likewise in Hiligaynon: “commit-adultery-with-a-man or commit-adultery-with-a-woman” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

See also adultery, adulterer, adulteress, and you shall not commit adultery.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 6:32

“He who commits adultery has no sense”: This verse speaks again of the adulterer and follows the thought of verses 27-29 more than it contrasts with 30-31. Only a stupid person would put fire in his clothes or walk on hot coals. This, however, is the kind of person who “commits adultery”, that is, sleeps with another man’s wife. “Has no sense” is literally “lacks heart,” that is, lacks good sense.

“He who does it destroys himself” is literally “he who does it [goes to bed with another man’s wife] is a destroyer of his own soul.” “Destroy” with “self” as the object means to ruin, corrupt, or make worthless. Bible en français courant says “he causes his own loss” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “he injures his life.” We may also say, for example, “He will make himself worthless” or “You will end up as nothing.”

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 6:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 6:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “But a person who is adulterous is very foolish. Any man/person who does such things, (he) will meet death.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But if anyone commits adultery,
    he is a great fool.
    He destroys himself.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man who is-having-a-relationship with the wife of others has no understanding. He is- just -destroying himself.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But the (man) who commits-adultery (does-woman-with) has no thoughts/mind (i.e. is unthinking), because he only destroys himself (lit. his body).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 6:32

6:32

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. The second line completes the thought of the first line. It explains why a person who commits adultery lacks judgment.

32a
He who commits adultery lacks judgment;

32b
whoever does so destroys himself.

The contrast between 6:31 and 6:32 is that the punishment is more severe. The man who sleeps with another man’s wife will be punished far more severely than a thief who steals to satisfy his hunger. The thief loses his belongings. The man who sleeps with another man’s wife destroys his own life.

6:32a

He who commits adultery lacks judgment: In Hebrew, the phrase lacks judgment is literally “lacking heart.” In this phrase, the word “heart” refers primarily to a person’s mental faculties—the ability to think clearly and to make good decisions. It does not refer to a person’s emotions. So the phrase “lacking heart” describes someone who lacks common sense and makes foolish decisions. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

has no sense (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
is a senseless fool (Revised English Bible)

6:32b

destroys himself: Most versions translate this phrase as destroys himself. It is clear from 6:33 that the adulterer does not die immediately. Rather, his actions lead to his own life being ruined. This line does not necessarily refer to the death penalty, so you should not use an expression that definitely refers to the man’s death.

General Comment on 6:32a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder parts of 6:32a–b. For example:

But ⌊how much worse for⌋ a person who sleeps with another man’s wife. He will cause his own destruction. What a fool he is!

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