For the levy of the prostitute is poverty
This phrase highlights the financial consequences of engaging with a prostitute. In ancient Israel, prostitution was not only a moral issue but also an economic one. The term "levy" suggests a tax or a financial burden, indicating that such relationships can lead to financial ruin. Proverbs often warns against the folly of pursuing temporary pleasures at the expense of long-term stability. The cultural context of the time viewed wealth as a sign of God's blessing, and squandering it on immoral pursuits was seen as both foolish and sinful. This aligns with other biblical teachings, such as in Proverbs 5:10, which warns that one's wealth can be given to others when engaging in such behavior.

and the adulteress preys upon your very life
This part of the verse emphasizes the severe consequences of adultery, extending beyond financial ruin to endanger one's very existence. The imagery of "preys upon" suggests a predator-prey relationship, indicating that the adulteress is actively seeking to destroy. In the historical context, adultery was a grave sin with severe social and legal repercussions, often leading to death or social ostracism. This phrase can be connected to the broader biblical theme of sin leading to death, as seen in James 1:15, which states that sin, when fully grown, brings forth death. The warning here is not just about physical danger but also spiritual peril, as engaging in adultery can lead one away from a righteous path and ultimately from God.

1. Prostitute
In the context of Proverbs, the prostitute symbolizes temptation and moral compromise. The Hebrew word used here is (zonah), which refers to a woman who engages in sexual immorality for gain.

2. Adulteress
This term refers to a married woman who engages in sexual relations outside of her marriage. The Hebrew word (nokriyah) can also imply a foreign or strange woman, emphasizing the danger of engaging with those outside the covenant community.

3. Poverty
This is not just financial destitution but also spiritual and moral impoverishment. The Hebrew root (resh) suggests a lack or neediness that results from poor choices.

4. Life
The Hebrew word (nephesh) is used here, which can mean life, soul, or self. It indicates the depth of the impact that engaging with an adulteress can have on one's entire being.The Cost of Sin
Engaging in sexual immorality leads to both material and spiritual poverty. It is crucial to recognize the true cost of sin, which often appears enticing but results in significant loss.

Guarding the Heart
Proverbs 6:26 serves as a reminder to guard one's heart and mind against temptations that can lead to moral and spiritual downfall.

The Importance of Wisdom
Seeking wisdom and understanding from God's Word helps believers discern and avoid the pitfalls of immorality.

Accountability and Community
Being part of a faith community provides support and accountability, helping individuals resist temptations and make righteous choices.

The Path to Restoration
For those who have fallen into sin, there is hope and restoration through repentance and God's grace.Verse 26. - For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread. From this verse onwards to the end of the chapter the discourse consists of a series of arguments, each calculated to deter youth from the sins of fornication and adultery, by exhibiting the evil consequences of such indulgence. The first is the poverty and extreme beggary to which a man is brought. For by means of; Hebrew, ki v'ad. Lee gives the preposition vaad the force of "after," i.e. after associating with. The radical idea of the preposition is that of nearness, by, near, and easily passes to that of "because" (Gesenius) or "by means of," as in the Authorized Version. It is here used for per, "through," as in Joshua 2:15; 2 Samuel 20:23, and so indicates the transit through the way of fornication to extreme beggary (Gejerus). A whorish woman; Hebrew, ishshah zonah; Vulgate, scortum; LXX., πόρνη; "a harlot," here corresponding to "the adulteress" (esheth ish), since the root zonah, "to commit fornication," is attributed both to married and unmarried women (Genesis 38:24; Leo. 19:29; Hosea 3:3). The word zonah is sometimes written alone, as in Genesis 38:15 and Deuteronomy 23:19. The fuller expression, as here, occurs in Leviticus 21:7; Joshua 2:1; Judges 11:1. To a piece of bread; Hebrew, adkikkar lakhem. It will be noticed that there is an ellipsis in the Hebrew, which, however, may be easily supplied, as in the Authorized Version. Delitzsch supplies "one cometh down to;" so Zockler. "A piece of bread' is properly "a circle of bread, a small round piece of bread, such as is still baked in Italy (pagnotta) and in the East (Arabic kurs), here an expression for the smallest piece" (Fleischer). The term occurs in Exodus 29:23; 1 Samuel 2:36, in the latter of which passages it expresses the extreme destitution to which the members of the house of Eli were to be reduced. As illustrating the term, see also ch. 38:21 and Ezekiel 13:19. The LXX. and Vulgate singularly render, "For the price of a harlot is scarcely that of a bit of bread," which may mean, as Castalio, that she is of so little value; but the context is opposed to this rendering, where the Point brought out is not the vile character of the harlot as the ruin she inflicts or is the cause cf. Besides, the Hebrew ad does not mean ever "scarcely," or "hardly," which the Vulgate vix gives to it. And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. The adulteress is isheth ish, literally, "the woman of a man," or "a man's wife," as in the margin - as, therefore, strictly an adulteress here (cf. Leviticus 20:10). Will hunt; Hebrew, thatsud; LXX., ἀγρεύει; Vulgate, capit. The Hebrew verb tsud, "to lie in wait for," "to hunt," also signifies "to take, or capture," like the Vulgate capere, The verb in its metaphorical use also occurs in Lamentations 3:52; Micah 7:2; Psalm 140:12, and refers to those beguilements resorted to by the adulteress to seduce youth. In Ezekiel 13:18 it carries with it the idea of death, and if understood in this sense here it may have reference to the death penalty inflicted on adulterer and adulteress by the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 20:10), and introduces what is said more fully in vers. 32, 34, 35. The precious life; Hebrew, nephesh y'karah The epithet y'karah is appropriately added to nephesh, as indicating the high value of the life. All is implied in the nephesh, "the life," moral dignity of character, the soul of man. It is the ever-existing part of the man, and therefore is precious - nothing can exceed it in value. Our Lord says (Matthew 16:26), "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" and the psalmist (Psalm 49:8), "For the redemption of their life is precious." But it is for this life, or soul, that the adulteress hunts, and which she destroys. Lives of fornication and adultery, therefore, carry with them the severest penalties, the loss of temporal possessions, for the enjoyment of a transient passion, and far beyond this the loss of life both temporal and eternal. We cannot imagine a more deterrent warning.

Parallel Commentaries ...


For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the levy
בְעַד־ (ḇə·‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 1157: In up to, over against, at, beside, among, behind, for

of the prostitute
זוֹנָ֗ה (zō·w·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

is poverty,
כִּכַּ֫ר (kik·kar)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3603: A round, a round district, a round loaf, a round weight, a talent (a measure of weight or money)

and the adulteress
וְאֵ֥שֶׁת (wə·’ê·šeṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

preys upon
תָצֽוּד׃ (ṯā·ṣūḏ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6679: To lie alongside, to catch an animal, to victual

your very
יְקָרָ֣ה (yə·qā·rāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 3368: Precious, rare, splendid, weighty

life.
נֶ֖פֶשׁ (ne·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 6:26 For a prostitute reduces you to (Prov. Pro Pr)