Proverbs 6
1 My son! if thou hast been surety for thy friend, Hast stricken for a stranger thy hand,
My son, if you set aside your money as a guarantee for your neighbor's loan, if you gave your promise for a loan of someone you do not know,
2 Hast been snared with sayings of thy mouth, Hast been captured with sayings of thy mouth,
then you have laid a trap for yourself by your promise and you have been caught by the words of your mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For thou hast come into the hand of thy friend. Go, trample on thyself, and strengthen thy friend,
When you are caught by your words, my son, do this and save yourself, since you have fallen into the hand of your neighbor; go and humble yourself and make your case before your neighbor.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, And slumber to thine eyelids,
Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber.
5 Be delivered as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of a fowler.
Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go unto the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;
Look at the ant, you lazy person, consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Which hath not captain, overseer, and ruler,
It has no commander, officer, or ruler,
8 She doth prepare in summer her bread, She hath gathered in harvest her food.
yet it prepares its food in the summer and during the harvest it stores up what it will eat.
9 Till when, O slothful one, dost thou lie? When dost thou arise from thy sleep?
How long will you sleep, you lazy person? When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little clasping of the hands to rest,
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest”—
11 And thy poverty hath come as a traveller, And thy want as an armed man.
and your poverty will come like a robber and your needs like an armed soldier.
12 A man of worthlessness, a man of iniquity, Walking [with] perverseness of mouth,
A worthless person—a wicked man— lives by the crookedness of his speech,
13 Winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, Directing with his fingers,
winking his eyes, making signals with his feet and pointing with his fingers.
14 Frowardness [is] in his heart, devising evil at all times, Contentions he sendeth forth.
He plots evil with deceit in his heart; he always stirs up discord.
15 Therefore suddenly cometh his calamity, Instantly he is broken — and no healing.
Therefore his disaster will overtake him in an instant; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16 These six hath Jehovah hated, Yea, seven [are] abominations to His soul.
There are six things that Yahweh hates, seven that are disgusting to him.
17 Eyes high — tongues false — And hands shedding innocent blood —
The eyes of a proud person, a tongue that lies, hands that shed the blood of innocent people,
18 A heart devising thoughts of vanity — Feet hasting to run to evil —
a heart that invents wicked schemes, feet that quickly run to do evil,
19 A false witness [who] doth breathe out lies — And one sending forth contentions between brethren.
a witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers.
20 Keep, my son, the command of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother.
My son, obey the command of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
21 Bind them on thy heart continually, Tie them on thy neck.
Always bind them on your heart; tie them about your neck.
22 In thy going up and down, it leadeth thee, In thy lying down, it watcheth over thee, And thou hast awaked — it talketh [with] thee.
When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; and when you wake up, they will teach you.
23 For a lamp [is] the command, And the law a light, And a way of life [are] reproofs of instruction,
For the commands are a lamp, and the teaching is a light; the corrections that come by instruction are the way of life.
24 To preserve thee from an evil woman, From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
It keeps you from the immoral woman, from the smooth words of an immoral woman.
25 Desire not her beauty in thy heart, And let her not take thee with her eyelids.
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.
26 For a harlot consumeth unto a cake of bread, And an adulteress the precious soul hunteth.
Sleeping with a prostitute can cost the price of a loaf of bread, but the wife of another may cost you your very life.
27 Doth a man take fire into his bosom, And are his garments not burnt?
Can a man carry a fire against his chest without burning his clothes?
28 Doth a man walk on the hot coals, And are his feet not scorched?
Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
29 So [is] he who hath gone in unto the wife of his neighbour, None who doth touch her is innocent.
So is the man who sleeps with his neighbor's wife; the one who sleeps with her will not go unpunished.
30 They do not despise the thief, When he stealeth to fill his soul when he is hungry,
People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his need when he is hungry.
31 And being found he repayeth sevenfold, All the substance of his house he giveth.
Yet if he is caught, he will pay back seven times what he stole; he must give up everything of value in his house.
32 He who committeth adultery [with] a woman lacketh heart, He is destroying his soul who doth it.
The one who commits adultery has no sense; the one who does it destroys himself.
33 A stroke and shame he doth find, And his reproach is not wiped away,
Wounds and shame are what he deserves and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy [is] the fury of a man, And he doth not spare in a day of vengeance.
For jealousy makes a man furious; he will show no mercy when he takes his revenge.
35 He accepteth not the appearance of any atonement, Yea, he doth not consent, Though thou dost multiply bribes!
He will accept no compensation and he cannot be bought off, though you offer him many gifts.
