The first phrase of Proverbs 6:26 is translated in several different ways by major translations:

for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread [ESV]

For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread [NASB]

for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread [ESV note; cf. NLT]

It thus appears that the passage could be talking about three different things:

1. The cost of a prostitute is merely a loaf of bread (NIV, ESV, RSV, NABRE)
2. The value of the man who hires a prostitute is that of a loaf of bread (KJV, NKJV, NASB, NET)
3. Hiring prostitutes will leave a man destitute (ESV note, NLT, TLB)

What is the cause of this discrepancy? I can think of a few reasons:

• The meaning of the Hebrew text is uncertain, and these are three attempts to express it
• The meaning of the Hebrew text encompasses more than one of these meanings, but translators must pick one
• Textual variations lead to disagreement over which rendering is best
• The ESV's footnote suggests that the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate may lend themselves to interpretation #3

Are all three of my interpretations valid understandings of this text? What is the basis for viewing one or two of them as preferable over the other(s)?