Proverbs 6
Expanded Bible
Dangers of Being Foolish
6 My ·child [L son], ·be careful about giving [L if you make] a guarantee for ·somebody else’s loan [L your neighbor/friend],
·about promising to pay what someone else owes [L shaking hands with a stranger in agreement; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13].
2 You ·might [or will] get trapped by what you say;
you ·might [or will] be caught by ·your own words [or what you say].
3 My ·child [L son], if you have done this and are under your ·neighbor’s [or friend’s] control,
here is how to ·get free [extricate yourself].
·Don’t be proud [L Humble yourself]. Go to your ·neighbor [or friend]
and ·beg to be free from your promise [L press/urge your neighbor/friend].
4 Don’t ·go to [L let your eyes] sleep
or ·even rest your eyes [L let your eyelids/pupils slumber],
5 but ·free [extricate] yourself like a ·deer [gazelle] running from ·a hunter [L his hand],
like a bird flying away from a ·trapper [fowler].
6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person.
Watch ·what they do [L its paths] and ·be [or become] wise.
7 Ants have no commander,
no leader or ruler,
8 but they ·store up [get their] food in the summer
and gather their ·supplies [provisions] at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person?
When will you get up from sleeping?
10 ·You sleep a little; you take a nap [L “A little sleep, a little slumber”].
·You fold your hands and [L “A little folding of the arms to…”] lie down to rest.
11 So ·you will be as poor as if you had been robbed [L poverty will come on you like a robber];
·you will have as little as if you had been held up [L deprivation like a shielded warrior].
12 Some people are ·wicked and no good [worthless and guilty].
They go around ·telling lies [L with crooked mouths],
13 winking with their eyes, ·tapping with [or scraping] their feet,
and ·making signs [pointing; gesturing] with their fingers [C a reference to secretive plans or even magic].
14 They ·make evil plans in their hearts [L are perverse in their hearts and determined to do evil]
and are always starting ·arguments [conflicts].
15 So ·trouble [disaster] will strike them in an instant;
suddenly they will be so ·hurt [L broken] no one can ·help [L heal] them.
16 There are six things the Lord hates.
There are seven things ·he cannot stand [L that are an abomination to his soul]:
17 ·a proud look [haughty eyes],
a lying tongue,
hands that ·kill [L spill the blood of] innocent people,
18 a ·mind [heart] that thinks up evil plans,
feet that are quick to ·do [L run to] evil,
19 a witness who lies,
and someone who starts ·arguments [conflicts; fights] among·families [brothers; Ps. 133].
Warning About Adultery
20 My son, ·keep [protect] your father’s commands,
and don’t ·forget [L abandon; forsake] your mother’s ·teaching [instruction].
21 ·Keep their words in mind [L Bind them to your heart] forever
·as though you had them tied [fasten them] around your neck.
22 They will ·guide [lead] you when you walk.
They will ·guard [protect] you when you sleep.
They will ·speak to you [or occupy your attention] when you are awake.
23 These commands are like a lamp;
this ·teaching [instruction] is like a light [C making things clear].
And ·the correction that comes from them [L disciplined correction]
·will help you have [L is the path of] life.
24 They will ·keep [guard] you from ·sinful women [the evil woman]
and from the ·pleasing words [L flattering tongue] of ·another man’s unfaithful wife [L the foreign woman].
25 Don’t desire her because she is beautiful.
Don’t let her capture you by ·the way she looks at you [L her eyelashes].
26 A prostitute will ·treat you like [or cost you] a loaf of bread,
·and [or but] a ·woman who takes part in adultery [married woman] ·may cost you [L hunts; stalks] your life.
27 You cannot ·carry [or scoop] hot coals ·against your chest [or into your lap]
without burning your clothes,
28 and you cannot walk on hot coals
without burning your feet.
29 The same is true if you ·have sexual relations with [L go to] ·another man’s wife [L the wife of a neighbor/friend].
·Anyone who does so will be punished [L All who touch her will not go unpunished].
30 People don’t ·hate [despise] a thief
when he steals because he is hungry.
31 But if he is caught, he must pay back ·seven times what he stole [L sevenfold],
and ·it may cost him everything he owns [L he must give the riches of his house].
32 A man who takes part in adultery ·has no sense [L lacks heart];
he will destroy himself.
33 He will ·be beaten up and disgraced [L find affliction and scorn],
and his ·shame [reproach] will never ·go away [L be blotted out].
34 Jealousy makes a husband very angry,
and he will ·have no pity [not forgive] when he gets revenge.
35 He will accept no payment for the wrong;
he will ·take no amount of money [not take a bribe no matter how large].
Proverbs 6
Amplified Bible
Parental Counsel
6 My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor,
If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],
2
If you have been snared with the words of your lips,
If you have been trapped by the speech of your mouth,
3
Do this now, my son, and release yourself [from the obligation];
[a]Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you].
4
Give no [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5
Tear yourself away like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter
And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6
Go to the ant, O lazy one;
Observe her ways and be wise,(A)
7
Which, having no chief,
Overseer or ruler,
8
She prepares her food in the summer
And brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest.
9
How long will you lie down, O lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?(B)
10
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest”—
11
So your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely]
And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].(C)
12
A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a perverse (corrupt, vulgar) mouth.
13
Who winks with his eyes [in mockery], who shuffles his feet [to signal],
Who points with his fingers [to give subversive instruction];
14
Who perversely in his heart plots trouble and evil continually;
Who spreads discord and strife.
15
Therefore [the crushing weight of] his disaster will come suddenly upon him;
Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing or remedy [because he has no heart for God].
16
These six things the Lord hates;
Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him:
17
A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,(D)
18
A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
19
A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths],
And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.
20
My son, be guided by your father’s [God-given] commandment (instruction)
And do not [b]reject the teaching of your mother;(E)
21
Bind them continually upon your heart (in your thoughts),
And tie them around your neck.(F)
22
When you walk about, they (the godly teachings of your parents) will guide you;
When you sleep, they will keep watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
23
For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching [of the law] is light,
And reproofs (rebukes) for discipline are the way of life,(G)
24
To keep you from the evil woman,
From [the flattery of] the smooth tongue of an immoral woman.
25
Do not desire (lust after) her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her eyelashes.
26
For on account of a prostitute one is reduced to a piece of bread [to be eaten up],
And the immoral woman hunts [with a hook] the precious life [of a man].
27
Can a man take fire to his chest
And his clothes not be burned?
28
Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29
So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her will not be found innocent or go unpunished.
30
People do not despise a thief if he steals
To satisfy himself when he is hungry;
31
But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].
32
But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks common sense and sound judgment and an understanding [of moral principles];
He who would destroy his soul does it.
33
Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach (blame) will not be blotted out.
34
For jealousy enrages the [wronged] husband;
He will not spare [the guilty one] on the day of vengeance.
35
He will not accept any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment];
Nor will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts (bribes).
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:3 Under the ancient laws governing debt, a man obligated for another’s debt could lose his money, land, bed, and clothing; and if these were not sufficient, he and his wife and children could be sold as slaves, not to be released until the next Year of Jubilee—fifty years after the previous one.
- Proverbs 6:20 Lit forsake.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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