Proverbs 6
1 My son, if you have taken a pledge on behalf of your friend, then you have bound your hand to an outsider,
My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbour, —have struck for a stranger thy hands,
2 then you are ensnared by the words of your own mouth, and taken captive by your own words.
Thou hast been snared by the sayings of thy mouth, —thou hast been caught by the sayings of thy mouth.
3 Therefore, my son, do what I say, and free yourself, for you have fallen into the hand of your neighbor. Run, hurry, awaken your friend.
Do this then, my son, and deliver thyself, When thou hast come into the hand of thy neighbour, Go, haste thee, and urge thy neighbour;
4 Do not grant sleep to your eyes, nor let your eyelids slumber.
Do not give sleep to thine eyes, or slumber to thine eyelashes;
5 Rescue yourself like a gazelle from the hand, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Deliver thyself, as a gazelle out of the hand, and as a bird, out of the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you lazy one, and consider her ways, and so learn wisdom.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard, observe her ways, and be wise;
7 For though she has no ruler, nor instructor, nor leader,
Which, having no harvest, scribe, or ruler,
8 she provides meals for herself in the summer, and she gathers at the harvest what she may eat.
Prepareth, in the summer, her food, hath collected, in the harvest, her sustenance.
9 How long will you slumber, you lazy one? When will you rise up from your sleep?
How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? how long ere thou rise from thy sleep?
10 You will sleep a little, you will slumber a little, you will fold your hands a little to sleep,
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest: —
11 and then destitution will meet with you, like a traveler, and poverty, like an armed man. Yet truly, if you would be diligent, then your harvest will arrive like a fountain, and destitution will flee far from you.
So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
12 An apostate man, a harmful man, walks with a perverse mouth;
An abandoned man, a man of iniquity, [is he] who—goeth on in perversity of mouth;
13 he winks with the eyes, touches with the foot, speaks with the finger.
Winketh with his eyes, speaketh with his foot, pointeth with his fingers;
14 With a depraved heart he devises evil, and at all times he sows conflict.
[Hath] perverse things in his heart, deviseth mischief on every occasion, strifes, he sendeth forth.
15 To this one, his perdition will arrive promptly, and he shall be crushed suddenly: he will no longer have any remedy.
For this cause, suddenly cometh his doom, in a moment, shall he be torn in pieces and there be no mending.
16 Six things there are that the Lord hates, and the seventh, his soul detests:
These six things, doth Yahweh hate, yea, seven, are the abomination of his soul: —
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
Eyes that are lofty, a tongue that is false, and hands shedding innocent blood;
18 a heart that devises the most wicked thoughts, feet running swiftly unto evil,
A heart contriving iniquitous devices, feet hasting to run into mischief;
19 a deceitful witness bringing forth lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
One that uttereth lies—a false witness, and one sending forth strifes between brethren.
20 My son, preserve the precepts of your father, and do not dismiss the law of your mother.
Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, and do not decline from the instruction of thy mother:
21 Bind them to your heart unceasingly, and encircle them around your throat.
Bind them upon thy heart continually, fasten them upon thy neck;
22 When you walk, let them keep step with you. When you sleep, let them guard you. And when you keep watch, speak with them.
When thou walkest abroad, it shall guide thee, when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee, when thou wakest, it shall speak to thee:
23 For commandment is a lamp, and law is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
For, a lamp, is the commandment, and, the instruction, a light, and, the way of life, are the reproofs of correction:
24 So may they guard you from an evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the outsider.
To keep thee from the wicked woman, from the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger.
25 Let not your heart desire her beauty; do not be captivated by her winks.
Do not covet her beauty, in thy heart, neither let her take thee, by her eyelashes;
26 For the price of a prostitute is only one loaf. Yet the woman seizes the precious soul of a man.
Because, for the sake of an impure woman, [a man may be brought] even to a cake of bread, —and, a man’s wife, for a precious soul, may hunt!
27 Would a man be able to conceal fire in his bosom, so that his garments would not burn?
Can a man snatch up fire in his bosom, and, his clothes, not be burned?
28 Or could he walk over burning coals, so that his feet would not be burned?
Or can a man walk upon hot coals, and, his feet, not be burned?
29 So also, he who enters to the wife of his neighbor shall not be clean when he touches her.
So, he that goeth in unto his neighbour’s wife, no man shall be guiltless who toucheth her!
30 Not so great is the fault when someone has stolen. For he steals so as to satisfy a hungry soul.
Men despise not a thief, when he stealeth, to satisfy his appetite, because he is famished;
31 Also, if he is apprehended, he shall repay sevenfold and hand over all the substance of his house.
Yet, if found, he must pay back sevenfold, All the substance of his house, must he give:
32 But whoever is an adulterer, because of the emptiness of his heart, will destroy his own soul.
He that committeth adultery with a woman, lacketh sense, A destroyer of his own life, is he that doeth it;
33 He gathers shame and dishonor to himself, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
Smiting and shame, shall he find, and, his reproach, shall not be wiped out;
34 For the jealousy and fury of the husband will not spare him on the day of vindication,
For, jealousy, is the rage of a man, nor will he spare, in the day of avenging;
35 nor will he agree to the pleadings of anyone, nor will he accept, as repayment, a multitude of gifts.
He will not look, at any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou increase the bribe.
