Proverbs 6:1-19

New American Standard Bible

Parental Counsel

6 My son, if you have become a ^(A)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
²If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
³Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the ^[a]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
⁴Give no ^(B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a ^(C)bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ^(D)ant, you ^[b]^(E)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having ^(F)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
⁸Prepares its food ^(G)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
⁹How long will you lie down, you ^[c]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰“^(H)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^[d]rest,”
¹¹^(I)Then your poverty will come in like a ^[e]drifter,
And your need like ^[f]an armed man.

¹²A ^(J)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a ^(K)perverse mouth,
¹³Who ^(L)winks with his eyes, who ^[g]signals with his feet,
Who ^[h]points with his fingers;
¹⁴Who, with ^(M)perversion in his heart, continually ^(N)devises evil,
Who ^[i]^(O)spreads strife.
¹⁵Therefore ^(P)his disaster will come suddenly;
^(Q)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(R)no healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination ^[j]to Him:
¹⁷^(S)Haughty eyes, a ^(T)lying tongue,
And hands that ^(U)shed innocent blood,
¹⁸A heart that devises ^(V)wicked plans,
^(W)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹A ^(X)false witness who declares lies,
And one who ^[k]^(Y)spreads strife among brothers.