Exodus 20:14

20:14 “You shall not commit adultery. ¹ 

Exodus 20:2

20:2 “I, ²  the Lord, am your God, ³  who brought you ⁴  from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ⁵ 

Exodus 11:4

11:4 Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight ⁶  I will go throughout Egypt, ⁷ 

Exodus 12:12

12:12 I will pass through ⁸  the land of Egypt in the same ⁹  night, and I will attack ¹⁰  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, ¹¹  and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. ¹²  I am the Lord.

Psalms 50:18

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ¹³ 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 6:32-35

6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom, ¹⁵ 

whoever does it destroys his own life. ¹⁶ 

6:33 He will be beaten and despised, ¹⁷ 

and his reproach will not be wiped away; ¹⁸ 

6:34 for jealousy kindles ¹⁹  a husband’s ²⁰  rage,

and he will not show mercy ²¹  when he takes revenge.

6:35 He will not consider ²²  any compensation; ²³ 

he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation. ²⁴ 

Proverbs 7:9-10

7:9 in the twilight, the evening, ²⁵ 

in the dark of the night. ²⁶ 

7:10 Suddenly ²⁷  a woman came out to meet him!

She was dressed like a prostitute ²⁸  and with secret intent. ²⁹ 

[20:14]  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.”

[20:2]  ² sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I” – a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you” – Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).

[20:2]  ³ tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God” – and what that would mean in their lives.

[20:2]  ⁴ tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.

[20:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”

[11:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “about the middle of the night.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will go out in the midst of Egypt.”

[12:12]  ⁸ tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”

[12:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “this night.”

[12:12]  ¹⁰ tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

[12:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from man and to beast.”

[12:12]  ¹² tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).

[50:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[6:32]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[6:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “soul.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a metonymy of association for “life” (BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[6:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “He will receive a wound and contempt.”

[6:33]  ¹⁸ 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).

[6:34]  ¹⁹ tn The word “kindles” was supplied in the translation; both “rage” and “jealousy” have meanings connected to heat.

[6:34]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a man’s.”

[6:34]  ²¹ tn The verb חָמַל (khamal) means “to show mercy; to show compassion; to show pity,” usually with the outcome of sparing or delivering someone. The idea here is that the husband will not spare the guilty man any of the punishment (cf. NRSV “he shows no restraint”).

[6:35]  ²² tn Heb “lift up the face of,” meaning “regard.”

[6:35]  ²³ tn The word rendered “compensation” is כֹּפֶר (cofer); it is essentially a ransom price, a sum to be paid to deliver another from debt, bondage, or crime. The husband cannot accept payment as a ransom for a life, since what has happened cannot be undone so easily.

[6:35]  ²⁴ tn BDB 1005 s.v. שֹׁחַד suggests that this term means “hush money” or “bribe” (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT). C. H. Toy takes it as legal compensation (Proverbs [ICC], 142).

[7:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in the evening of the day.”

[7:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in the middle of the night, and dark”; KJV “in the black and dark night”; NRSV “at the time of night and darkness.”

[7:10]  ²⁷ tn The particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) introduces a dramatic sense of the immediate to the narrative; it has a deictic force, “and look! – there was a woman,” or “all of a sudden this woman….”

[7:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “with the garment of a prostitute.” The noun שִׁית (shith, “garment”) is an adverbial accusative specifying the appearance of the woman. The words “she was” are supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.

[7:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “kept secret of heart”; cf. ASV, NRSV “wily of heart.” The verbal form is the passive participle from נָצַר (natsar) in construct. C. H. Toy lists the suggestions of the commentators: false, malicious, secret, subtle, excited, hypocritical (Proverbs [ICC], 149). The LXX has “causes the hearts of the young men to fly away.” The verb means “to guard; to watch; to keep”; to be guarded of heart means to be wily, to have secret intent – she has locked up her plans and gives nothing away (e.g., Isaiah 48:6 as well). Interestingly enough, this contrasts with her attire which gives everything away.