Financial Entanglements

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor[a]
or entered into an agreement with[b] a stranger,(A)
you have been snared by the words of your mouth—
trapped by the words from your mouth.
Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.(B)
Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,[c]
like a bird from a hunter’s trap.[d](C)

Laziness

Go to the ant,(D) you slacker!(E)
Observe its ways and become wise.
Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(F)
How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(G)

The Malicious Man

12 A worthless person,(H) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(I)
13 winking(J) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(K) with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble.(L)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.(M)

What the Lord Hates

16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
17 arrogant eyes,(N) a lying tongue,(O)
hands that shed innocent blood,(P)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(Q)
feet eager to run to evil,(R)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(S)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(T)

Warning against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(U)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(V)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(W)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(X)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[e]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.(Y)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(Z)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(AA)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[f]
but the wife of another man[g] goes after a precious life.(AB)
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.(AC)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(AD)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(AE)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[h] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(AF)
33 He will get a beating[i] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(AG)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.

Footnotes

  1. 6:1 Or friend
  2. 6:1 Lit or slapped hands for
  3. 6:5 Lit hand
  4. 6:5 Lit hand
  5. 6:24 LXX reads from a married woman
  6. 6:26 Or On account of a prostitute, one is left with only a loaf of bread
  7. 6:26 Lit but a wife of a man
  8. 6:32 Lit commits adultery with a woman
  9. 6:33 Or plague

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,