Proverbs 6
World English Bible
6 My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor,
if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 you are trapped by the words of your mouth;
you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself,
since you have come into the hand of your neighbor.
Go, humble yourself.
Press your plea with your neighbor.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes,
nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard.
Consider her ways, and be wise;
7 which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
8 provides her bread in the summer,
and gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you sleep, sluggard?
When will you arise out of your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 so your poverty will come as a robber,
and your scarcity as an armed man.
12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity,
is he who walks with a perverse mouth,
13 who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
who motions with his fingers,
14 in whose heart is perverseness,
who devises evil continually,
who always sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly.
He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
16 There are six things which Yahweh hates;
yes, seven which are an abomination to him:
17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 a false witness who utters lies,
and he who sows discord among brothers.
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them continually on your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, it will lead you.
When you sleep, it will watch over you.
When you awake, it will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp,
and the law is light.
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 to keep you from the immoral woman,
from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue.
25 Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart,
neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
26 For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals,
and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife.
Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
30 Men don’t despise a thief
if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry;
31 but if he is found, he shall restore seven times.
He shall give all the wealth of his house.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding.
He who does it destroys his own soul.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor.
His reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He won’t regard any ransom,
neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
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
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