The Meaning of Proverbs 30:20 Explained

Proverbs 30:20

KJV: Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

YLT: So -- the way of an adulterous woman, She hath eaten and hath wiped her mouth, And hath said, 'I have not done iniquity.'

Darby: Such is the way of an adulterous woman: she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

ASV: So is the way of an adulterous woman; She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, And saith, I have done no wickedness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Such [is] the way  of an adulterous  woman;  she eateth,  and wipeth  her mouth,  and saith,  I have done  no wickedness. 

What does Proverbs 30:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The mention of the woman in Proverbs 30:19 seems to have triggered this pigtail comment about another unexplainable phenomenon. That Isaiah , how some women can commit adultery as easily as, and without any more remorse than, they can eat a meal. The sage could have said the same of some men.

Context Summary

Proverbs 30:18-33 - Lessons From Common Things
We have four more quatrains.
1. There are the four wonders that baffle Agur's understanding. How superficial is our knowledge! How does the eagle mount the air, or the serpent find a hold on the slippery rock, or a ship plow her way across the deep, or a man and woman fall in love by a secret interchange of heart which no one else perceives? And further how can a sinner continue to sin without experiencing remorse?
2. There are four intolerable conditions: a slave in authority, a pampered fool, an ill-assorted marriage, and a slave-girl, like Hagar, preferred to her mistress.
3. There are four kinds of animals which prove that it is possible to be insignificant and yet be wise: the ant, the cony, the locust, and the lizard, r.v.
4. There are four things which give the idea of stateliness in motion: a lion, a greyhound, a he-goat, and a king "against whom there is no rising up." This remarkable collection ends with an exhortation to the repression of anger. Sometimes to refuse to express one's passion is the surest way of killing it. Treat it like a room on fire. Shut door and window, that it may die for want of air. Ask God's holy sunlight to replace the unholy heat of your soul. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 30

1  Agur's confession of his faith
7  The two points of his prayer
10  The meanest are not to be wronged
11  Four wicked generations
15  Four things insatiable
24  four things exceeding wise
29  Four things stately
32  Wrath is to be prevented

What do the individual words in Proverbs 30:20 mean?

This [is] the way of an woman adulterous she eats and wipes her mouth and says no I have done wickedness -
כֵּ֤ן ׀ דֶּ֥רֶךְ אִשָּׁ֗ה מְנָ֫אָ֥פֶת אָ֭כְלָה וּמָ֣חֲתָה פִ֑יהָ וְ֝אָמְרָ֗ה לֹֽא־ פָעַ֥לְתִּי אָֽוֶן פ

כֵּ֤ן ׀  This  [is] 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
דֶּ֥רֶךְ  the  way 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
אִשָּׁ֗ה  of  an  woman 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
מְנָ֫אָ֥פֶת  adulterous 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, feminine singular
Root: נָאַף  
Sense: to commit adultery.
אָ֭כְלָה  she  eats 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וּמָ֣חֲתָה  and  wipes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָחָא 
Sense: to wipe, wipe out.
פִ֑יהָ  her  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
וְ֝אָמְרָ֗ה  and  says 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לֹֽא־  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
פָעַ֥לְתִּי  I  have  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: פָּעַל  
Sense: to do, make.
אָֽוֶן  wickedness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Proverbs 30:20?

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