Proverbs 6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Financial Entanglements
6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor[a]
or entered into an agreement with[b] a stranger,[c](A)
2 you have been trapped by the words of your lips[d]—
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 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.
4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.(B)
5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,[e]
like a bird from a fowler’s trap.[f](C)
Laziness
6 Go to the ant,(D) you slacker!(E)
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
8 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(F)
9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,(G)
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(H)
The Malicious Man
12 A worthless person,(I) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(J)
13 winking(K) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(L) with perversity in his heart—
he stirs up trouble.(M)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery.(N)
What the Lord Hates
16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to Him:
17 arrogant eyes,(O) a lying tongue,(P)
hands that shed innocent blood,(Q)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(R)
feet eager to run to evil,(S)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(T)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(U)
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(V)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(W)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(X)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(Y)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[g]
from the flattering[h] tongue of a stranger.(Z)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(AA)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(AB)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[i]
but an adulteress[j] goes after a precious life.(AC)
27 Can a man embrace fire[k]
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.(AD)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(AE)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(AF)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[l] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(AG)
33 He will get a beating[m] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(AH)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish gifts.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:1 Or friend
- Proverbs 6:1 Lit or shaken hands for or with
- Proverbs 6:1 The Hb word for stranger can refer to a foreigner, an Israelite outside one’s family, or simply to another person.
- Proverbs 6:2 Lit mouth
- Proverbs 6:5 Lit hand
- Proverbs 6:5 Lit hand
- Proverbs 6:24 LXX reads from a married woman
- Proverbs 6:24 Lit smooth
- Proverbs 6:26 Or On account of a prostitute, [one is left with] only a loaf of bread
- Proverbs 6:26 Lit but a wife of a man
- Proverbs 6:27 Lit man take fire to his bosom
- Proverbs 6:32 Lit commits adultery with a woman
- Proverbs 6:33 Or plague
Proverbs 6
New Living Translation
Lessons for Daily Life
6 My child,[a] if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
and are caught by what you said—
3 follow my advice and save yourself,
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride;
go and beg to have your name erased.
4 Don’t put it off; do it now!
Don’t rest until you do.
5 Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
like a bird fleeing from a net.
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
7 Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
8 they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
They are constant liars,
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,
and they constantly stir up trouble.
15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,
broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
16 There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.
20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
24 It will keep you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
25 Don’t lust for her beauty.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,[b]
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
28 Can he walk on hot coals
and not blister his feet?
29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
30 Excuses might be found for a thief
who steals because he is starving.
31 But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole,
even if he has to sell everything in his house.
32 But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
for he destroys himself.
33 He will be wounded and disgraced.
His shame will never be erased.
34 For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation,
nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
