Proverbiorum 6
1 [Fili mi, si spoponderis pro amico tuo, defixisti apud extraneum manum tuam:
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 illaqueatus es verbis oris tui, et captus propriis sermonibus.
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 Fac ergo quod dico, fili mi, et temetipsum libera, quia incidisti in manum proximi tui. Discurre, festina, suscita amicum tuum.
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 Ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, nec dormitent palpebræ tuæ.
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 Eruere quasi damula de manu, et quasi avis de manu aucupis.]
Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter [or] like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.
6 [Vade ad formicam, o piger, et considera vias ejus, et disce sapientiam.
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 Quæ cum non habeat ducem, nec præceptorem, nec principem,
They do not have a king or a governor or any [other] person who rules them [and forces them to work],
8 parat in æstate cibum sibi, et congregat in messe quod comedat.
[but] they work hard [all] during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.
9 Usquequo, piger, dormies? quando consurges e somno tuo?
[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 Paululum dormies, paululum dormitabis, paululum conseres manus ut dormias;
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 et veniet tibi quasi viator egestas, et pauperies quasi vir armatus. Si vero impiger fueris, veniet ut fons messis tua, et egestas longe fugiet a te.]
and suddenly you will become poor. It will be as though a bandit suddenly comes and takes all that you have.
12 [Homo apostata, vir inutilis, graditur ore perverso;
[I will describe for you what] worthless and evil people [are like]. They constantly lie;
13 annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur,
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 pravo corde machinatur malum, et omni tempore jurgia seminat.
They plan to do evil things. They constantly cause strife/trouble.
15 Huic extemplo veniet perditio sua, et subito conteretur, nec habebit ultra medicinam.]
But disasters will hit them suddenly; they will be crushed/ruined and nothing will be able to heal them.
16 [Sex sunt quæ odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus:
There are six, [maybe] seven, kinds of people that Yahweh hates. [They are]:
17 oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem,
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 cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum,
people who plan to do evil deeds; people [SYN] who run quickly to do wrong things;
19 proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum qui seminat inter fratres discordias.]
people who easily tell lies in court; and people who cause strife between family members.
20 [Conserva, fili mi, præcepta patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuæ.
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 Liga ea in corde tuo jugiter, et circumda gutturi tuo.
Remember the things that we have said. Those things should be [like a beautiful necklace] around your neck.
22 Cum ambulaveris, gradiantur tecum; cum dormieris, custodiant te: et evigilans loquere cum eis.
[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 Quia mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux, et via vitæ increpatio disciplinæ:
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 ut custodiant te a muliere mala, et a blanda lingua extraneæ.
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 Non concupiscat pulchritudinem ejus cor tuum, nec capiaris nutibus illius:
[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 pretium enim scorti vix est unius panis, mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.
[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 Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut vestimenta illius non ardeant?
Can you carry hot coals in your pocket and not be burned [RHQ]?
28 aut ambulare super prunas, ut non comburantur plantæ ejus?
Can you walk on burning coals and not scorch/burn your feet?
29 sic qui ingreditur ad mulierem proximi sui, non erit mundus cum tetigerit eam.
[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 Non grandis est culpa cum quis furatus fuerit: furatur enim ut esurientem impleat animam;
We do not despise a thief if he steals some food because he is very hungry.
31 deprehensus quoque reddet septuplum, et omnem substantiam domus suæ tradet.
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 Qui autem adulter est, propter cordis inopiam perdet animam suam;
[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 turpitudinem et ignominiam congregat sibi, et opprobrium illius non delebitur:
[That woman’s husband] will wound him badly, and [other people] will despise him. His shame will never end.
34 quia zelus et furor viri non parcet in die vindictæ,
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 nec acquiescet cujusquam precibus, nec suscipiet pro redemptione dona plurima.]
And he will not accept any bribe/money, even if it is a big bribe, to (appease him/cause him to stop being angry).
