20:14 “You shall not commit adultery. 1
6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom, 2
whoever does it destroys his own life. 3
6:33 He will be beaten and despised, 4
and his reproach will not be wiped away; 5
5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 6 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
1 sn This is a sin against the marriage of a fellow citizen – it destroys the home. The Law distinguished between adultery (which had a death penalty) and sexual contact with a young woman (which carried a monetary fine and usually marriage if the father was willing). So it distinguished fornication and adultery. Both were sins, but the significance of each was different. In the ancient world this sin is often referred to as “the great sin.”
2 tn Heb “heart.” The term “heart” is used as a metonymy of association for discernment, wisdom, good sense. Cf. NAB “is a fool”; NIV “lacks judgment”; NCV, NRSV “has no sense.”
3 tn Heb “soul.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a metonymy of association for “life” (BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).
4 tn Heb “He will receive a wound and contempt.”
5 sn Even though the text has said that the man caught in adultery ruins his life, it does not mean that he was put to death, although that could have happened. He seems to live on in ignominy, destroyed socially and spiritually. He might receive blows and wounds from the husband and shame and disgrace from the spiritual community. D. Kidner observes that in a morally healthy society the adulterer would be a social outcast (Proverbs [TOTC], 75).
6 sn A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:17.
7 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16 and Deut 5:16-20. Jesus cited the parts of the ten commandments that relate to how others should be treated.
8 tn Or “stumbles.”
9 tn Grk “guilty of all.”
10 sn A quotation from Exod 20:14 and Deut 5:18.
11 sn A quotation from Exod 20:13 and Deut 5:17.