For the levy of the prostitute
The word "levy" here can be understood as a cost or a price. In the Hebrew text, the word used is "כִּי" (ki), which often introduces a reason or explanation. The term "prostitute" is translated from the Hebrew "זֹנָה" (zonah), which refers to a woman who engages in sexual activity for payment. Historically, prostitution was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern cultures, often associated with pagan worship and idolatry. The "levy" implies a transactional nature, highlighting the tangible and intangible costs associated with engaging in such relationships. From a conservative Christian perspective, this phrase warns against the spiritual and moral degradation that accompanies such actions, emphasizing that the pursuit of illicit pleasures leads to spiritual poverty and a loss of integrity.

is poverty
The Hebrew word for "poverty" is "עַד־כִּכַּר־לָחֶם" (ad-kikkar-lechem), which literally translates to "a loaf of bread." This phrase metaphorically represents destitution or lack. In the context of Proverbs, it underscores the idea that engaging with a prostitute reduces a person to a state of need and want, both materially and spiritually. The imagery of a loaf of bread suggests basic sustenance, indicating that the pursuit of such sinful desires can strip one of even the most fundamental necessities. From a conservative viewpoint, this serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of sin, urging believers to seek fulfillment in God rather than in fleeting, worldly pleasures.

and the adulteress
The term "adulteress" is derived from the Hebrew "אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ" (eshet ish), meaning "a man's wife," but in this context, it refers to a woman who engages in adultery. Adultery, in biblical times, was considered a grave sin, violating the sanctity of marriage and the covenant relationship between husband and wife. The use of "adulteress" here serves to broaden the warning from mere financial ruin to the deeper, more destructive consequences of infidelity. It reflects the biblical principle that marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God, and any violation of this covenant is not only a personal sin but an affront to divine order.

preys upon your very life
The phrase "preys upon" is translated from the Hebrew "תָּצוּד נֶפֶשׁ יָקָר" (tatzud nefesh yakar), which conveys the idea of hunting or capturing. The "very life" refers to one's soul or essence, indicating that the consequences of adultery are not merely physical or financial but deeply spiritual and existential. The imagery of a predator and prey suggests a deliberate and destructive pursuit, emphasizing the danger and severity of engaging in such sinful behavior. From a conservative Christian perspective, this serves as a stark reminder of the spiritual warfare believers face and the importance of guarding one's heart and life against the snares of sin. It calls for vigilance and reliance on God's wisdom to navigate the moral challenges of life.

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)