Proverbiorum 6

1 Fili mi, si spoponderis pro amico tuo, defixisti apud extraneum manum tuam,

[My] son, if you become surety for your friend, you shall deliver your hand to an enemy.

2 illaqueatus es verbis oris tui, et captus propriis sermonibus.

For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.

3 Fac ergo quod dico fili mi, et temetipsum libera: quia incidisti in manum proximi tui. Discurre, festina, suscita amicum tuum:

[My] son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you are come into the power of evil [men]: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you are become surety.

4 ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, nec dormitent palpebræ tuæ.

Give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber with your eyelids;

5 Eruere quasi damula de manu, et quasi avis de manu aucupis.

that you may deliver yourself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare.

6 Vade ad formicam o piger, et considera vias eius, et disce sapientiam:

Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he.

7 quæ cum non habeat ducem, nec præceptorem, nec principem,

For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master,

8 parat in æstate cibum sibi, et congregat in messe quod comedat.

he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labors kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.

9 Usquequo piger dormies? quando consurges e somno tuo?

How long will you lie, O sluggard? and when will you awake out of sleep?

10 Paululum dormies, paululum dormitabis, paululum conseres manus ut dormias:

You sleep a little, and you rest a little, and you slumber a short [time], and you fold your arms over your breast a little.

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.

Then poverty comes upon you as an evil traveller, and lack as a swift courier: but if you be diligent, your harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier.

12 Homo apostata, vir inutilis, graditur ore perverso,

A foolish man and a transgressor goes in ways that are not good.

13 annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur,

And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers.

14 pravo corde machinatur malum, et omni tempore iurgia seminat.

[His] perverse heart devises evils: at all times such a one causes troubles to a city.

15 Huic extemplo veniet perditio sua, et subito conteretur, nec habebit ultra medicinam.

Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; overthrow and irretrievable ruin.

16 Sex sunt, quæ odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima eius:

For he rejoices in all things which God hates, and he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul.

17 Oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem,

The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, hands shedding the blood of the just;

18 cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum,

and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil, —[are hateful to God].

19 proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum, qui seminat inter fratres discordias.

An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, and brings on quarrels between brethren.

20 Conserva fili mi præcepta patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuæ.

[My] son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother:

21 Liga ea in corde tuo iugiter, et circumda gutturi tuo.

but bind them upon your soul continually, and hang them as a chain about your neck.

22 Cum ambulaveris, gradiantur tecum: cum dormieris, custodiant te, et evigilans loquere cum eis.

Whenever you walk, lead this along and let it be with you; that it may talk with you when you wake.

23 Quia mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux, et via vitæ increpatio disciplinæ:

For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction:

24 ut custodiant te a muliere mala, et a blanda lingua extraneæ.

to keep you continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue.

25 Non concupiscat pulchritudinem eius cor tuum, nec capiaris nutibus illius:

Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be you caught by your eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids.

26 pretium enim scorti vix est unius panis: mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.

For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.

27 Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut vestimenta illius non ardeant?

Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments?

28 aut ambulare super prunas, ut non comburantur plantæ eius?

or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet?

29 sic qui ingreditur ad mulierem proximi sui, non erit mundus cum tetigerit eam.

So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her.

30 Non grandis est culpa, cum quis furatus fuerit: furatur enim ut esurientem impleat animam:

It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul:

31 deprehensus quoque reddet septuplum, et omnem substantiam domus suæ tradet.

but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods.

32 Qui autem adulter est, propter cordis inopiam perdet animam suam:

But the adulterer through lack of sense procures destruction to his soul.

33 turpitudinem et ignominiam congregat sibi, et opprobrium illius non delebitur.

He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off.

34 Quia zelus et furor viri non parcet in die vindictæ,

For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 nec acquiescet cuiusquam precibus, nec suscipiet pro redemptione dona plurima.

He will not forego [his] enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.