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Warning Against Having Sexual Relations with a Married Woman

Proverbs 6:27-29 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
²⁷Can a man carry^[1] fire in his bosom
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can a man walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
    none who touches her will go unpunished.

Can a man carry fire in his bosom: Solomon is using fire (אֵשׁ esh), that is fuel that is burning, emphasizing the danger of adultery, that is, the consequences of the man’s actions. The bosom (חֵיק cheq or חֵק cheq or חוֹק choq) is a person’s chest or breast, an area of the body between the waist and where the shoulders and arms meet, which is used to fold one’s garment into a sort of pocket for carrying things.

And his clothes not be burned: A rhetorical question, which is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer. The answer here is a definite no.

Or can a man walk on hot coals: The hot coals (גָּחֹל gachol) (charcoal) is a hot fragment of coal that had been made from wood, which is left from a fire and is still smoldering.

And his feet not be scorched: The feet (רֶגֶל regel) here refer to the soles of the feet. It is another rhetorical question, which is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer. The answer again is a definite no.

So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife: Here, Solomon is comparing the one who commits adultery to the one who gets burned in verses 27-28.

none who touches her will go unpunished: Here touches (נָגַע naga) goes beyond some incidental contact of a handshake or a kiss or a hug as a greeting, as it refers to immoral adulterous sexual relations. Somebody will surely punish such a sinner.

This pictorial message is all too clear, as there is no way of committing adultery and not suffering the consequences in some fashion. The picture that these two questions paint is that most generally, it is not some mild pain, but something that will bring about agonizing, unbearable pain, which will scar you for life.

Adultery brings death; it kills men. Under the Mosaic Law, “And the man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his fellow man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” (Lev. 20:10) Every Israelite knew this, and serious Bible students today know this. Therefore, those who give into the momentary immediate gratification of a person or a person’s actions or feelings without moral principles, that is, their lustful desires, would be held accountable under the Law and viewed as purposely killing themselves. Adultery disgraces, humiliates one’s sense of right and wrong, and corrupts their conscience. Their conscience becomes callused and unfeeling. Any inappropriate touching is in impending jeopardy of committing adultery as the one who carries fire in his bosom, or walks on hot coals, is in danger of being burnt. This sin is brought about by gradually heading down a path that will eventually lead to the point of no return, where there is no escaping. He who commits adultery is on the road to eternal destruction.

[1] Lit snatch up