Proverbs 6
1 My son! If you have been guarantor for your friend, Have struck your hand for a stranger,
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, [if] thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Have been snared with sayings of your mouth, Have been captured with sayings of your mouth,
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 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,
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4 Do not give sleep to your eyes, And slumber to your eyelids,
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Be delivered as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of a fowler.
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand [of the hunter], and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which has no captain, overseer, and ruler,
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 She prepares her bread in summer, She has gathered her food in harvest.
Provideth her meat in the summer, [and] gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 Until when, O slothful one, do you lie? When do you arise from your sleep?
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little clasping of the hands to rest,
[Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 And your poverty has come as a traveler, And your want as an armed man.
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12 A man of worthlessness, a man of iniquity, Walking [with] perverseness of mouth,
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13 Winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, Directing with his fingers,
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14 Contrariness [is] in his heart, devising evil at all times, He sends forth contentions.
Frowardness [is] in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore his calamity comes suddenly, He is broken instantly—and no healing.
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six has YHWH hated, Indeed, seven [are] abominations to His soul:
These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:
17 High eyes, False tongues, And hands shedding innocent blood,
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart devising thoughts of vanity, Feet hastening to run to evil,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness [who] breathes out lies, And one sending forth contentions between brothers.
A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20 Keep, my son, the command of your father, And do not leave the law of your mother.
My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them on your heart continually, Tie them on your neck.
Bind them continually upon thine heart, [and] tie them about thy neck.
22 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.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the command [is] a lamp, And the Law a light, And a way of life [are] reproofs of instruction,
For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:
24 To preserve you from an evil woman, From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, And do not let her take you with her eyelids.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For a harlot consumes to a cake of bread, And an adulteress hunts the precious soul.
For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Does a man take fire into his bosom, And are his garments not burned?
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Does a man walk on the hot coals, And are his feet not scorched?
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So [is] he who has gone in to the wife of his neighbor, None who touches her is innocent.
So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30 They do not despise the thief, When he steals to fill his soul when he is hungry,
[Men] do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31 And being found he repays sevenfold, He gives all the substance of his house.
But [if] he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32 He who commits adultery [with] a woman lacks heart, He who does it is destroying his soul.
[But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 He finds a stroke and shame, And his reproach is not wiped away,
A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy [is] the fury of a man, And he does not spare in a day of vengeance.
For jealousy [is] the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He does not accept the appearance of any atonement, Indeed, he does not consent, Though you multiply bribes!
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
