Proverbs 6
American Standard Version
6 My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor,
If thou hast stricken [a]thy hands for a stranger;
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,
Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor:
Go, [b]humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor;
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes,
Nor slumber to thine eyelids;
5 Deliver thyself as a [c]roe from the hand of the hunter,
And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no [d]chief,
Overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her bread in the summer,
And gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou [e]sleep, O sluggard?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [f]sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as a [g]robber,
And thy want as [h]an armed man.
12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity,
Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;
13 That winketh with his eyes, that [i]speaketh with his feet,
That [j]maketh signs with his fingers;
14 In whose heart is perverseness,
Who deviseth evil continually,
Who [k]soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;
On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.
16 There are six things which Jehovah hateth;
Yea, seven which are an abomination [l]unto him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood;
18 A heart that deviseth wicked purposes,
Feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that [m]uttereth lies,
And he that [n]soweth discord among brethren.
20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father,
And forsake not the [o]law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thy heart;
Tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee;
When thou [p]sleepest, it shall watch over thee;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For [q]the commandment is a lamp; and [r]the law is light;
And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
From the flattery of the foreigner’s tongue.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart;
Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread;
And [s]the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk upon hot coals,
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whosoever toucheth her shall not be [t]unpunished.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal
To satisfy [u]himself when he is hungry:
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;
He shall give all the substance of his house.
32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of [v]understanding:
He doeth it who would destroy his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get;
And his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man;
And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom;
Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:1 Or, thy hand with a stranger
- Proverbs 6:3 Or, bestir
- Proverbs 6:5 Or, gazelle
- Proverbs 6:7 Or, judge
- Proverbs 6:9 Hebrew lie down.
- Proverbs 6:10 Hebrew lie down.
- Proverbs 6:11 Or, rover
- Proverbs 6:11 Hebrew a man with a shield.
- Proverbs 6:13 Or, shuffleth
- Proverbs 6:13 Or, teacheth with
- Proverbs 6:14 Hebrew letteth loose.
- Proverbs 6:16 Hebrew of his soul.
- Proverbs 6:19 Hebrew breatheth out.
- Proverbs 6:19 Hebrew letteth loose.
- Proverbs 6:20 Or, teaching
- Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew liest down.
- Proverbs 6:23 Or, their commandment
- Proverbs 6:23 Or, their teaching
- Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man’s wife.
- Proverbs 6:29 Hebrew held innocent.
- Proverbs 6:30 Or, his appetite
- Proverbs 6:32 Hebrew heart.
Proverbs 6
Lexham English Bible
Against Pledges
6 My child, if you have pledged to your neighbor,
if you have bound yourself[a] to the stranger,
2 if you are snared by the sayings of your mouth,
if you are caught by the sayings of your mouth,
3 do this, then, my child, and save yourself,
for you have come into the palm of your neighbor’s hand:[b]
Go, humble yourself, plead with your neighbor.
4 Do not give sleep to your eyes,
or slumber to your eyelids.
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from a hand,
or like a bird from the hand of a fowler.
Against Sloth
6 Go to the ant, lazy!
Consider its ways and be wise.
7 It has no chief,
officer, or ruler.
8 In the summer, it prepares its food;
in the harvest, it gathers its sustenance.
9 How long will you lie down, lazy?
When will you rise up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands for rest—
11 like a robber[c] shall your poverty come,
and what you lack like an armed man.
Against Worthlessness
12 A worthless man, an evil man,
goes around with deceitful speech.[d]
13 Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot,
pointing in his fingers,
14 perversion in his heart, he devises evil;
at all times he will send out discord.[e]
15 Upon such a man,[f] suddenly shall his calamity come;
in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.[g]
What Yahweh Hates
16 There are six things Yahweh hates,
and seven things are abominations of his soul:[h]
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a devising heart, plans of deception,
feet that hurry to run to evil,[i]
19 a false witness who breathes lies
and sends out discord[j] between brothers.
Commandment and Instruction as Guardians
20 My child, keep the commandment of your father,
and do not disregard the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them on your heart continually;
tie them upon your neck.
22 When you walk,[k] she[l] will lead you,
When you lie down,[m] she will watch over you,
and when you awake, she will converse with you.
23 For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,
and the way of life[n] is the reproof of discipline,
24 in order to preserve you from an evil woman,[o]
from the smoothness of the tongue of an adulteress.[p]
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart;
may she not capture you with her eyelashes.
26 For the price of a woman, a prostitute,[q] is the price of a loaf of bread,
but the woman belonging to a man[r] hunts precious life.
Warning Against Relations with a Married Woman
27 Can a man carry fire in his lap,
and his clothes not burn?
28 If a man walks upon the hot coals,
will his feet not be burned?
29 Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor,
any who touches her shall not go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief when he steals
to fill himself[s] when he is hungry.
31 But if he is found, he will pay sevenfold,
every possession of his house he shall give.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense,[t]
he destroys himself[u] who does it.
33 A wound and dishonor he will find,
and his disgrace will not be wiped out.
34 For jealousy is the fury of a husband,
and he will not show restraint on the day of revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation,[v]
and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:1 Literally “palms of your hands”
- Proverbs 6:3 Literally “the palm of the hand of your neighbor”
- Proverbs 6:11 Literally “one who walks,” that is, a vagabond
- Proverbs 6:12 Literally “crookedness of mouth”
- Proverbs 6:14 Or “quarrels”
- Proverbs 6:15 Literally “thus”
- Proverbs 6:15 Or “repair”
- Proverbs 6:16 Or “inner self”
- Proverbs 6:18 Hebrew “the evil”
- Proverbs 6:19 Or “quarrels”
- Proverbs 6:22 Literally “In your walking”
- Proverbs 6:22 That is, “commandment” and “instruction”
- Proverbs 6:22 Literally “In your lying down”
- Proverbs 6:23 Hebrew “lives”
- Proverbs 6:24 Or “wife”
- Proverbs 6:24 Literally “a foreign woman”
- Proverbs 6:26 Or “whore”
- Proverbs 6:26 Literally “the woman of a man”
- Proverbs 6:30 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
- Proverbs 6:32 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 6:32 Or “his soul,” or “his life”
- Proverbs 6:35 Literally “the face of any compensation”
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