Proverbs 6

1 My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbour, —have struck for a stranger thy hands,

2 Thou hast been snared by the sayings of thy mouth, —thou hast been caught by the sayings of thy mouth.

3 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 give sleep to thine eyes, or slumber to thine eyelashes;

5 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, thou sluggard, observe her ways, and be wise;

7 Which, having no harvest, scribe, or ruler,

8 Prepareth, in the summer, her food, hath collected, in the harvest, her sustenance.

9 How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? how long ere thou rise from thy sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest: —

11 So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.

12 An abandoned man, a man of iniquity, [is he] who—goeth on in perversity of mouth;

13 Winketh with his eyes, speaketh with his foot, pointeth with his fingers;

14 [Hath] perverse things in his heart, deviseth mischief on every occasion, strifes, he sendeth forth.

15 For this cause, suddenly cometh his doom, in a moment, shall he be torn in pieces and there be no mending.

16 These six things, doth Yahweh hate, yea, seven, are the abomination of his soul: —

17 Eyes that are lofty, a tongue that is false, and hands shedding innocent blood;

18 A heart contriving iniquitous devices, feet hasting to run into mischief;

19 One that uttereth lies—a false witness, and one sending forth strifes between brethren.

20 Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, and do not decline from the instruction of thy mother:

21 Bind them upon thy heart continually, fasten them upon thy neck;

22 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, a lamp, is the commandment, and, the instruction, a light, and, the way of life, are the reproofs of correction:

24 To keep thee from the wicked woman, from the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger.

25 Do not covet her beauty, in thy heart, neither let her take thee, by her eyelashes;

26 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 Can a man snatch up fire in his bosom, and, his clothes, not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk upon hot coals, and, his feet, not be burned?

29 So, he that goeth in unto his neighbour’s wife, no man shall be guiltless who toucheth her!

30 Men despise not a thief, when he stealeth, to satisfy his appetite, because he is famished;

31 Yet, if found, he must pay back sevenfold, All the substance of his house, must he give:

32 He that committeth adultery with a woman, lacketh sense, A destroyer of his own life, is he that doeth it;

33 Smiting and shame, shall he find, and, his reproach, shall not be wiped out;

34 For, jealousy, is the rage of a man, nor will he spare, in the day of avenging;

35 He will not look, at any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou increase the bribe.