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 inlaqueatus 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 temet ipsum libera quia incidisti in manu 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 palpebrae tuae
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 eruere quasi dammula de manu et quasi avis de insidiis 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 eius et disce sapientiam
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 quae cum non habeat ducem nec praeceptorem 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 aestate 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 dormis quando consurges ex 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
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 in omni tempore iurgia 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 quae odit Dominus et septimum detestatur anima eius
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 praecepta patris tui et ne dimittas legem matris tuae
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 liga ea in corde tuo iugiter 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 vitae increpatio disciplinae
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 extraneae
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 eius 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 unius est 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 abscondere potest homo 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 et non conburentur plantae eius
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 culpae 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 suae 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 obprobrium 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 vindictae
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 adquiescet cuiusquam 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).
