Proverbs 6
Legacy Standard Bible
Practical Warnings
6 My son, if you have become a (A)guarantor for your neighbor,
Have struck your [a]hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,
3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the [b]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and badger your neighbor.
4 Give no (B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand
And like a (C)bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the (D)ant, O (E)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having (F)no chief,
Officer or ruler,
8 Prepares her food (G)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “(H)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [c]rest”—
11 (I)Your poverty will come in like [d]a vagabond
And your want like [e]an armed man.
12 A (J)vile person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a (K)perverse mouth,
13 Who (L)winks with his eyes, who [f]signals with his feet,
Who [g]points with his fingers;
14 Who with (M)perversity in his heart continually (N)devises evil,
Who [h](O)spreads contentions.
15 Therefore (P)his disaster will come suddenly;
(Q)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (R)no healing.
16 There are six things which Yahweh hates,
Even seven which are an abomination [i]to Him:
17 (S)Haughty eyes, a (T)lying tongue,
And hands that (U)shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises (V)wicked thoughts,
(W)Feet that hasten to run to evil,
19 A (X)false witness who breathes out lies,
And one who [j](Y)spreads strife among brothers.
Warning Against Adultery
20 (Z)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not abandon the [k]law of your mother;
21 (AA)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you (AB)walk about, [l]they will lead you;
When you sleep, [m]they will keep watch over you;
And when you awake, [n]they will speak to you.
23 For (AC)the commandment is a lamp and the [o]law is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
24 To (AD)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (AE)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (AF)eyelids.
26 For (AG)on account of [p]a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And [q]an adulteress (AH)hunts for the precious [r]life.
27 Can a man [s]take fire in his bosom
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 (AI)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (AJ)will not [t]go unpunished.
30 [u]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To (AK)fill [v]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (AL)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the [w]substance of his house.
32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is (AM)lacking a heart of wisdom;
He who would (AN)destroy his soul does it.
33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
34 For (AO)jealousy [x]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the (AP)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [y]accept any ransom,
He will not be willing though you give many bribes.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:1 Lit palms
- Proverbs 6:3 Lit palm
- Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who walks
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs
- Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:16 Lit of His soul
- Proverbs 6:19 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:20 Or instruction
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:23 Or instruction
- Proverbs 6:26 Or a woman who is a harlot
- Proverbs 6:26 Or a woman of another man
- Proverbs 6:26 Lit soul
- Proverbs 6:27 Lit snatch up
- Proverbs 6:29 Lit be innocent
- Proverbs 6:30 Or Do not men...?; lit They do not
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:31 Or wealth
- Proverbs 6:34 Lit is the rage of
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit lift up the face of
Proverbs 6
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,(A)
2 you have been snared by the words of your mouth—
trapped by the words from 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,[c]
like a bird from a hunter’s trap.[d](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,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(G)
The Malicious Man
12 A worthless person,(H) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(I)
13 winking(J) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(K) with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble.(L)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.(M)
What the Lord Hates
16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
17 arrogant eyes,(N) a lying tongue,(O)
hands that shed innocent blood,(P)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(Q)
feet eager to run to evil,(R)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(S)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(T)
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(U)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(V)
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,(W)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(X)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[e]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.(Y)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(Z)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(AA)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[f]
but the wife of another man[g] goes after a precious life.(AB)
27 Can a man embrace fire
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.(AC)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(AD)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(AE)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[h] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(AF)
33 He will get a beating[i] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(AG)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.
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