Proverbs 6:26 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
²⁶ for because of a prostitute, a man is reduced to a loaf of bread,
    but a wife of another man hunts down a precious soul.<sup>[1]

26</sup> [Although the price of a prostitute may be as much as a loaf of bread,
    another man’s wife hunts the precious life].^[2]

The Hebrew of verse 26 is very challenging. “The [Hebrew] word (bé’ad) may be taken either as “on account of” (= by means of a) prostitute (cf. ASV, NASB), or “for the price of” a prostitute (cf. NAB). Most expositors take the first reading, though that use of the preposition is unattested, and then must supply “one is brought to.” The verse would then say that going to a prostitute can bring a man to poverty but going to another man’s wife can lead to death. If the second view were taken, it would mean that one had a smaller price than the other. It is not indicating that one is preferable to the other; both are to be avoided.”[3] On this, Duane A. Garrett writes,

Although support can be found for the [1984] NIV rendition in scholarly literature [For the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life], it is a conjectural and quite questionable translation. The verse is best rendered, “Although the price of a prostitute may be as much as a loaf of bread, / [another] man’s wife hunts the precious life.” The man’s life, which the wayward woman hunts, is called “precious” (i.e., valuable) in contrast to the meager payment the prostitute demands. This obviously is not meant to endorse going to a prostitute as opposed to having an affair with another man’s wife but to show the complete folly of getting involved with another man’s wife. Indeed, “prostitute,” in parallel here with the “[other] man’s wife,” may well be one and the same person. She takes a small payment as a prostitute from her victim but steals away his very life as adulteress. The price also indicates the degradation of this act to both man and woman; it is cheap. Going to the immoral woman is the quintessential self-destructive act.[4]

While we do not support dynamic equivalent (interpretive) translations, the insights in A Handbook on Proverbs, UBS Handbook Series are important.

The connector for renders the Hebrew word that marks this verse as the reason for avoiding the temptation described in verse 25.

A harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread: Note that RSV follows the Septuagint; for the literal Hebrew see the RSV footnote. The sense of this line seems to be that a prostitute costs no more than a piece of bread. A harlot is “a prostitute” (NRSV, TEV, and most versions), a woman who exchanges sex relations with a man for goods or money. A word for “prostitute” should be carefully chosen so that the reading of the word in public does not cause embarrassment. In some languages “prostitute” is expressed by expressions such as “woman who takes men to her house,” “woman they all sleep with,” or “woman who sells herself.”

May be hired is not in the Hebrew text but is understood, according to RSV. Note, however, that NRSV says “for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread.” The word rendered loaf is literally “a round,” which refers to the small round pieces of Middle Eastern bread, sometimes called “pocket bread.” This is because the two sides of the bread form a pocket when torn open. Where such shapes of bread are unknown, it is better to say, “a piece of bread.” NJB has “a hunk of bread.” Where bread is not used it is advisable to shift to a more general word such as “a bit of food” or to use a bit of the most commonly eaten food in the area where the language is spoken.

But an adulteress stalks a man’s very life: But introduces the contrast between the two kinds of women the man is entangled with. Adulteress is literally “a man’s wife.” RSV stalks translates the word for hunt as the activity of a hunter. It means to approach the prey or victim silently. A man’s very life is literally “the precious soul,” where “precious” in regard to material things means “highly prized” or “costly.” The costly, valuable life in the second line is contrasted to the almost worthless scrap of bread in the first line.

There are two ways to interpret this verse:

(1) a prostitute costs little compared to what a man will pay for having relations with another man’s wife, or

(2) a man having sex with a prostitute is reduced to nearly nothing, but having sex with another’s wife will cost him his life.

Some translations that follow the first interpretation are GECL (German common language version) “For a prostitute you pay no more than for bread, but for another man’s wife you will pay with your life”; CEV “A woman who sells her love can be bought for as little as the price of a meal. But making love to another man’s wife will cost you everything”; and frcl “It is the case that for a prostitute one gives up a little bread, but for a married woman one risks his whole life.”

Following the second interpretation are translations such as SEM [La Bible du Semeur] “Because of a wicked woman, one can be reduced to a scrap of bread, and the adulterous woman puts at risk a precious life” and Osty “For a prostitute a man is reduced to a crumb of bread, but a married woman catches a precious life in a trap.”[5]

On this, Dave Bland writes, “6:26 This is a problematic verse to translate from Hebrew,[6] but most commentators agree that the verse makes a contrast between the consequences of being with a prostitute and of being with an adulteress. The fee of the prostitute is a loaf of bread. The fee of the adulteress is the loss of life. The verse does not promote prostitution. It simply states that the consequences of engaging in sexual intercourse with a prostitute are paltry when compared to being involved with a married woman. The unfaithful married woman is a deadly stalker who hunts lives.”[7]

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[1] That is, life

[2] Duane A. Garrett, vol. 14, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary, 100 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993).

[3] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes, Pr 6:26 (Biblical Studies Press, 2006).

[4] Duane A. Garrett, vol. 14, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary, 100 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993).

[5] William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Proverbs, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 2000), 151–153.

[6] The MT literally reads, “for on behalf of a woman, a harlot, unto a loaf of bread.…”

[7] Dave Bland, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 2002), 92.