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.
Proverbs 6
International Standard Version
The Folly of Guaranteeing Loans
6 My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor,
if you have agreed to a deal[a] with a stranger,
2 trapped by your own words,
and caught by your own words,
3 then do this, my son, and deliver yourself,
because you have come under your neighbor’s control.[b]
Go, humble yourself!
Plead passionately with your neighbor!
4 Don’t allow yourself to sleep
or even to close your eyes.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hunter’s hand,[c]
or like a bird from a fowler’s hand.
The Folly of Laziness
6 Go to the ant, you lazy man!
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 It has no commander,
officer, or ruler,
8 but prepares its provisions in the summer
and gathers its food in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, lazy man?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and your poverty will come on you like a bandit
and your desperation like an armed man.
The Folly of Causing Strife
12 A worthless man, a wicked man,
goes around with devious speech,
13 winking with his eyes, making signs[d] with[e] his feet,
pointing with his fingers,
14 planning evil with a perverse mind,[f]
continually stirring up discord.
15 Therefore, disaster will overtake him suddenly.
He will be broken in an instant,
and he will never recover.
What God Hates
16 Here are six things that the Lord hates—
seven, in fact,[g] are detestable to him:[h]
17 Arrogant eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands shedding innocent blood;
18 a heart crafting evil plans,
feet running swiftly to wickedness,
19 a false witness snorting lies,
and someone sowing quarrels between brothers.
Parental Counsel about Immorality
20 Keep your father’s commands, my son,
and never forsake your mother’s rules,[i]
21 by binding them to your heart continuously,
fastening them around your neck.
22 During your travels wisdom[j] will lead you;
she will watch over you while you rest;
and when you are startled from your sleep,
she will commune with you.
23 Because the command is a lamp
and the Law a light,
rebukes that discipline are a way of life—
24 to protect you from the evil[k] woman,
from the words of the seductive woman.
25 Do not focus on her beauty in your mind,
nor allow her to take you prisoner with her flirting eyes,
26 because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread,
and an adulterous woman stalks a man’s precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his bosom
without burning his clothes?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So also is it with someone who has sex with his neighbor’s wife;
anyone touching her will not remain unpunished.
30 A thief isn’t despised
if he steals to meet his needs[l] when he is hungry,
31 but when he is discovered,
he must restore seven-fold,
forfeiting the entire value of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman is out of his mind;
by doing so he corrupts his own soul.
33 He will receive a beating and dishonor,
and his shame won’t disappear,
34 because jealousy incites[m] a strong man’s rage,
and he will show no mercy when it’s time for revenge.
35 He will not consider any payment,
nor will he be willing to accept it,[n]
no matter how large the bribe.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:1 Lit. have clapped your hands; i.e. have shaken hands
- Proverbs 6:3 Lit. into the hands of your neighbor
- Proverbs 6:5 So MT; LXX Syr Targ read from the hunter; or a noose
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit. scraping
- Proverbs 6:13 The Heb. lacks with
- Proverbs 6:14 Or heart
- Proverbs 6:16 The Heb. lacks in fact
- Proverbs 6:16 Lit. to his soul
- Proverbs 6:20 Or laws
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit. wisdom; i.e. wisdom personified as a woman
- Proverbs 6:24 So MT; LXX reads married
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit. to refresh his soul
- Proverbs 6:34 The Heb. lacks incites
- Proverbs 6:35 The Heb. lacks to accept it
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.
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