Proverbs 6
1 My sonne, if thou be surety for thy neighbour, and hast striken hands with the stranger,
My son, if someone has borrowed money from a friend or a stranger, and if you have promised that you will pay the money back if that person is unable to pay back the money he borrowed,
2 Thou art snared with the wordes of thy mouth: thou art euen taken with the woordes of thine owne mouth.
you may be trapped by what you have agreed to do, [because if the one who borrowed the money is not able to pay it back, you will have to pay it]. What you have said that you will do will be like a snare to you.
3 Doe this nowe, my sonne, and deliuer thy selfe: seeing thou art come into the hande of thy neighbour, goe, and humble thy selfe, and sollicite thy friends.
So, my son, I will tell you what you should do to escape from your difficulty, so that the moneylender does not get control over your [wealth: ] Humbly go to your friend and plead with him [to cancel the agreement]!
4 Giue no sleepe to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 Deliuer thy selfe as a doe from the hande of the hunter, and as a birde from the hande of the fouler.
Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter [or] like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.
6 Goe to the pismire, O sluggarde: beholde her waies, and be wise.
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 For shee hauing no guide, gouernour, nor ruler,
They do not have a king or a governor or any [other] person who rules them [and forces them to work],
8 Prepareth her meat in the sommer, and gathereth her foode in haruest.
[but] they work hard [all] during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.
9 Howe long wilt thou sleepe, O sluggarde? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleepe?
[But], you lazy loafer, how long will you [continue to] sleep [RHQ]? Are you never going to get up from sleeping [and go to work]?
10 Yet a litle sleepe, a litle slumber, a litle folding of the hands to sleepe.
You sleep a for a little time; [you say, “I will take] just a short nap.” You lie down and fold/lay your hands [across your chest] and rest;
11 Therefore thy pouertie commeth as one that trauaileth by the way, and thy necessitie like an armed man.
and suddenly you will become poor. It will be as though a bandit suddenly comes and takes all that you have.
12 The vnthriftie man and the wicked man walketh with a froward mouth.
[I will describe for you what] worthless and evil people [are like]. They constantly lie;
13 He maketh a signe with his eyes: he signifieth with his feete: he instructeth with his fingers.
by winking their eyes and moving their feet and making signs with their fingers, they signal [to their friends what they are intending/planning to do].
14 Lewde things are in his heart: he imagineth euill at all times, and raiseth vp contentions.
They plan to do evil things. They constantly cause strife/trouble.
15 Therefore shall his destruction come speedily: hee shall be destroyed suddenly without recouerie.
But disasters will hit them suddenly; they will be crushed/ruined and nothing will be able to heal them.
16 These sixe things doeth the Lord hate: yea, his soule abhorreth seuen:
There are six, [maybe] seven, kinds of people that Yahweh hates. [They are]:
17 The hautie eyes, a lying tongue, and the hands that shed innocent blood,
People who show by their eyes that they are very proud; people who lie [MTY]; people [SYN] who kill others [SYN] who have done nothing wrong;
18 An heart that imagineth wicked enterprises, feete that be swift in running to mischiefe,
people who plan to do evil deeds; people [SYN] who run quickly to do wrong things;
19 A false witnesse that speaketh lyes, and him that rayseth vp contentions among brethren.
people who easily tell lies in court; and people who cause strife between family members.
20 My sonne, keepe thy fathers commandement, and forsake not thy mothers instruction.
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 Binde them alway vpon thine heart, and tye them about thy necke.
Remember the things that we have said. Those things should be [like a beautiful necklace] around your neck.
22 It shall leade thee, when thou walkest: it shall watch for thee, when thou sleepest, and when thou wakest, it shall talke with thee.
[If you follow our advice, it will be as though] what we have taught you [PRS] will lead you, wherever you go. When you sleep, they will protect you. And when you wake up in the morning, they will teach/instruct you.
23 For the commandement is a lanterne, and instruction a light: and corrections for instruction are the way of life,
These commands and what we teach you [will be like] a lamp to light your path [MET]. When we rebuke you and correct/punish you, we will be showing you the road to having [a good] life.
24 To keepe thee from the wicked woman, and from ye flatterie of ye tongue of a strange woman.
Heeding [PRS] these commands and things that we have taught you will enable you to keep away from immoral women and from [listening to] the enticing words of an adulterous woman.
25 Desire not her beautie in thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eye lids.
[Even] if such a woman is beautiful and has lovely eyes, do not desire to go with her. Do not let her persuade you to go with her (with her eyes/by the way she looks at you).
26 For because of the whorish woman a man is brought to a morsell of bread, and a woman wil hunt for the precious life of a man.
[Do not forget that] you can hire a prostitute for only a loaf of bread, but [if you sleep with] another man’s wife, (it may cost you/you may lose) your life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosome, and his clothes not be burnt?
Can you carry hot coals in your pocket and not be burned [RHQ]?
28 Or can a man go vpon coales, and his feete not be burnt?
Can you walk on burning coals and not scorch/burn your feet?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbours wife, shall not be innocent, whosoeuer toucheth her.
[No]! And in the same way, anyone who (sleeps with/has sex with) another man’s wife will [suffer for doing that]. [He will certainly] [LIT] be punished severely.
30 Men do not despise a thiefe, when he stealeth, to satisfie his soule, because he is hungrie.
We do not despise a thief if he steals some food because he is very hungry.
31 But if he be founde, he shall restore seuen folde, or he shall giue all the substance of his house.
But [if he steals something and then] is caught [by the police], he will have to pay back (seven times as much as/much more than) he stole. He may need to sell everything that is in his house [to get enough money to pay it back].
32 But he that committeth adulterie with a woman, he is destitute of vnderstanding: he that doeth it, destroyeth his owne soule.
[But] a man who commits adultery with some woman is very foolish, [because] he is destroying his own self/soul [by what he is doing].
33 He shall finde a wounde and dishonour, and his reproch shall neuer be put away.
[That woman’s husband] will wound him badly, and [other people] will despise him. His shame will never end.
34 For ielousie is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Because that woman’s husband will (be jealous/not want anyone else to sleep with her), he will become furious, and when he gets revenge, he will not act mercifully [toward the man who slept with his wife].
35 He cannot beare the sight of any raunsome: neither will he consent, though thou augment the giftes.
And he will not accept any bribe/money, even if it is a big bribe, to (appease him/cause him to stop being angry).
