Proverbs 6
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast thy hand to a stranger.
My son! If you have been guarantor for your friend, Have struck your hand for a stranger,
2 Thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth, and caught with thy own words.
Have been snared with sayings of your mouth, Have been captured with sayings of your mouth,
3 Do therefore, my son, what I say, and deliver thyself: because thou art fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run about, make haste, stir up thy friend:
Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For you have come into the hand of your friend. Go, trample on yourself, and strengthen your friend,
4 Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber.
Do not give sleep to your eyes, And slumber to your eyelids,
5 Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Be delivered as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of a fowler.
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom:
Go to the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;
7 Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain,
Which has no captain, overseer, and ruler,
8 Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
She prepares her bread in summer, She has gathered her food in harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep?
Until when, O slothful one, do you lie? When do you arise from your sleep?
10 Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep:
A little sleep, a little slumber, A little clasping of the hands to rest,
11 And want shall come upon thee, as a traveller, and poverty as a man armed. But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee.
And your poverty has come as a traveler, And your want as an armed man.
12 A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth,
A man of worthlessness, a man of iniquity, Walking [with] perverseness of mouth,
13 He winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the finger.
Winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, Directing with his fingers,
14 With a wicked heart he deviseth evil, and at all times he soweth discord.
Contrariness [is] in his heart, devising evil at all times, He sends forth contentions.
15 To such a one his destruction shall presently come, and he shall suddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy.
Therefore his calamity comes suddenly, He is broken instantly—and no healing.
16 Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth:
These six has YHWH hated, Indeed, seven [are] abominations to His soul:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
High eyes, False tongues, And hands shedding innocent blood,
18 A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief,
A heart devising thoughts of vanity, Feet hastening to run to evil,
19 A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.
A false witness [who] breathes out lies, And one sending forth contentions between brothers.
20 My son, beep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
Keep, my son, the command of your father, And do not leave the law of your mother.
21 Bind them in thy heart continually, and put them about thy neck.
Bind them on your heart continually, Tie them on your neck.
22 When thou walkest, let them go with thee: when thou sleepest, let them keep thee; and when thou awakest, talk with them.
In your going up and down, it leads you, In your lying down, it watches over you, And you have awoken—it talks [with] you.
23 Because the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
For the command [is] a lamp, And the Law a light, And a way of life [are] reproofs of instruction,
24 That they may keep thee from the evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the stranger.
To preserve you from an evil woman, From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Let not thy heart covet her beauty, be not caught with her winks:
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, And do not let her take you with her eyelids.
26 For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man.
For a harlot consumes to a cake of bread, And an adulteress hunts the precious soul.
27 Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn?
Does a man take fire into his bosom, And are his garments not burned?
28 Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?
Does a man walk on the hot coals, And are his feet not scorched?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife, shall not be clean when he shall touch her.
So [is] he who has gone in to the wife of his neighbor, None who touches her is innocent.
30 The fault is not so great when a man hath stolen: for he stealeth to fill his hungry soul:
They do not despise the thief, When he steals to fill his soul when he is hungry,
31 And if he be taken he shall restore sevenfold, and shall give up all the substance of his house.
And being found he repays sevenfold, He gives all the substance of his house.
32 But he that is an adulterer, for the folly of his heart shall destroy his own soul:
He who commits adultery [with] a woman lacks heart, He who does it is destroying his soul.
33 He gathereth to himself shame and dishonour, and his reproach shall not be blotted out:
He finds a stroke and shame, And his reproach is not wiped away,
34 Because the jealousy and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge,
For jealousy [is] the fury of a man, And he does not spare in a day of vengeance.
35 Nor will he yield to any man’s prayers, nor will he accept for satisfaction ever so many gifts.
He does not accept the appearance of any atonement, Indeed, he does not consent, Though you multiply bribes!
