Dangerous Promises

My son, (A)if you become [a]surety for your friend,
If you have [b]shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
For you have come into the hand of your friend:
Go and humble yourself;
Plead with your friend.
(B)Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
And like a bird from the hand of the [c]fowler.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:1 guaranty or collateral
  2. Proverbs 6:1 Lit. struck
  3. Proverbs 6:5 One who catches birds in a trap or snare

Financial Entanglements

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor[a]
or entered into an agreement with[b] a stranger,(A)
you have been snared by the words of your mouth—
trapped by the words from your mouth.
Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.(B)
Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,[c]
like a bird from a hunter’s trap.[d](C)

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Footnotes

  1. 6:1 Or friend
  2. 6:1 Lit or slapped hands for
  3. 6:5 Lit hand
  4. 6:5 Lit hand