Practical Warnings

My son, if you have put up (A)security for your neighbor,
    have (B)given your pledge for a stranger,
if you are (C)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,[a] and (D)plead urgently with your neighbor.
(E)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,[b]
    (F)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

(G)Go to (H)the ant, O (I)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and (J)be wise.
(K)Without having any chief,
    (L)officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread (M)in summer
    and (N)gathers her food in harvest.
(O)How long will you lie there, (P)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (Q)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    (R)a little (S)folding of the hands to rest,
11 (T)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

12 (U)A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with (V)crooked speech,
13 (W)winks with his eyes, signals[c] with his feet,
    points with his finger,
14 with (X)perverted heart (Y)devises evil,
    continually (Z)sowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    (AA)in a moment he will be broken (AB)beyond healing.

16 There are (AC)six things that the Lord hates,
    (AD)seven that are an abomination to him:
17 (AE)haughty eyes, (AF)a lying tongue,
    and (AG)hands that shed innocent blood,
18 (AH)a heart that devises wicked plans,
    (AI)feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 (AJ)a false witness who (AK)breathes out lies,
    and one who (AL)sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

20 (AM)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    (AN)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 (AO)Bind them on your heart always;
    (AP)tie them around your neck.
22 (AQ)When you walk, they[d] will lead you;
    (AR)when you lie down, they will (AS)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is (AT)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the (AU)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[e]
    from the smooth tongue of (AV)the adulteress.[f]
25 (AW)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her (AX)eyelashes;
26 for (AY)the price of a prostitute is only (AZ)a loaf of bread,[g]
    but a married woman[h] (BA)hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry (BB)fire next to his (BC)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one (BD)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her (BE)will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to (BF)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but (BG)if he is caught, he will pay (BH)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For (BI)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when (BJ)he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
  2. Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
  3. Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
  4. Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
  5. Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
  6. Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
  7. Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
  8. Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife

Warnings Against Folly

My son,(A) if you have put up security(B) for your neighbor,(C)
    if you have shaken hands in pledge(D) for a stranger,
you have been trapped by what you said,
    ensnared by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my son, to free yourself,
    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a]
    and give your neighbor no rest!
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
    no slumber to your eyelids.(E)
Free yourself, like a gazelle(F) from the hand of the hunter,(G)
    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(H)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;(I)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(J)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(K)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(L)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(M)
11 and poverty(N) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

12 A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13     who winks maliciously with his eye,(O)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,(P)
14     who plots evil(Q) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.(R)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(S)
    he will suddenly(T) be destroyed—without remedy.(U)

16 There are six things the Lord hates,(V)
    seven that are detestable to him:
17         haughty eyes,(W)
        a lying tongue,(X)
        hands that shed innocent blood,(Y)
18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,(Z)
19         a false witness(AA) who pours out lies(AB)
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(AC)

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(AD) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(AE)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(AF)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(AG)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(AH)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(AI)

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(AJ)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(AK) with another man’s wife;(AL)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(AM)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(AN) has no sense;(AO)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never(AP) be wiped away.

34 For jealousy(AQ) arouses a husband’s fury,(AR)
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,