Proverbs 4:14-15

4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

or walk ¹  in the way of those who are evil.

4:15 Avoid it, do not go on it;

turn away from it, and go on. ² 

Proverbs 5:8

5:8 Keep yourself ³  far ⁴  from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

Proverbs 6:25

6:25 Do not lust ⁵  in your heart for her beauty,

and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes; ⁶ 

Proverbs 23:31-33

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ⁷  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ⁸ 

23:32 Afterward ⁹  it bites like a snake,

and stings like a viper.

23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, ¹⁰ 

and your mind will speak perverse things.

Matthew 5:28

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.

[4:14]  ¹ tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.

[4:15]  ² sn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “your way.”

[5:8]  ⁴ sn There is a contrast made between “keep far away” (הַרְחֵק, harkheq) and “do not draw near” (וְאַל־תִּקְרַב, vÿ’al-tiqrav).

[6:25]  ⁵ tn The negated jussive gives the young person an immediate warning. The verb חָמַד (khamad) means “to desire,” and here in the sense of lust. The word is used in the Decalogue of Deut 5:21 for the warning against coveting.

[6:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “her eyelids” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “eyelashes”; TEV “flirting eyes”). This term is a synecdoche of part (eyelids) for the whole (eyes) or a metonymy of association for painted eyes and the luring glances that are the symptoms of seduction (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:30). The term “alluring” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.

[23:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ⁸ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[23:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “its end”; NASB “At the last”; TEV (interpretively) “The next morning.”

[23:33]  ¹⁰ tn The feminine plural of זָר (zar, “strange things”) refers to the trouble one has in seeing and speaking when drunk.