He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will get wounds and dishonor. His reproach will not be wiped away.
- KJV A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
- BSB Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away.
- NKJV Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away.
- NASB He will find wounds and disgrace, And his shame will not be removed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The adulterer reaps wounds, disgrace, and a reproach that never fades. His sin leaves lasting shame.
Overview
Beyond destroying himself, the adulterer earns injury and dishonor that cling to him permanently. The lasting reproach contrasts with sins that may in time be forgotten or repaid. The verse warns that sexual sin scars a person's reputation and life in enduring ways.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 5:9–11lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
- Ps 51:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
- Gen 49:4Boiling over like water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch.
- 1 Kgs 15:5because David did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and didn’t turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
- Matt 1:6Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife.
- Ps 51:8Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
- Neh 13:26Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin.
- Ps 38:1–8A Psalm by David, for a memorial. Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
- Judg 16:19–21She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 6:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.