Can a man hold ¹  fire ²  against his chest ³  without ⁴  burning his clothes?

biblegateway Pro 6:27

Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned?

Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?

Can a man carry fire in his lap without burning his clothes?

biblegateway Pro 6:27

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?

bibleoremus Pro 6:27

Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one’s clothes?

Can a man kindle a fire in his bosom without setting his clothes alight?

biblegateway Pro 6:27

Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

biblegateway Pro 6:27

Can a man hold ¹  fire ²  against his chest ³  without ⁴  burning his clothes?

¹ tn The Qal imperfect (with the interrogative) here has a potential nuance – “Is it possible to do this?” The sentence is obviously a rhetorical question making an affirmation that it is not possible.

² sn “Fire” provides the analogy for the sage’s warning: Fire represents the sinful woman (hypocatastasis) drawn close, and the burning of the clothes the inevitable consequences of the liaison. See J. L. Crenshaw, “Impossible Questions, Sayings, and Tasks,” Semeia 17 (1980): 19-34. The word “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) plays on the words “man” (אִישׁ,’ish) and “woman” (אִשָּׁה, ’ishah); a passage like this probably inspired R. Gamaliel’s little explanation that what binds a man and a woman together in a holy marriage is י (yod) and ה (he), the two main letters of the holy name Yah. But if the Lord is removed from the relationship, that is, if these two letters are removed, all that is left is the אֵשׁ – the fire of passion. Since Gamaliel was the teacher of Paul, this may have influenced Paul’s advice that it was better to marry than to burn (1 Cor 7:9).

³ tn Heb “snatch up fire into his bosom.”

⁴ tn The second colon begins with the vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun, indicating a disjunctive clause; here it is a circumstantial clause.