Proverbs 6

New King James Version

Dangerous Promises

6 My son, ^(A)if you become ^[a]surety for your friend,
If you have ^[b]shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
²You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
³So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
For you have come into the hand of your friend:
Go and humble yourself;
Plead with your friend.
⁴^(B)Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
⁵Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
And like a bird from the hand of the ^[c]fowler.

The Folly of Indolence

⁶^(C)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having no ^[d]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
⁸Provides her ^[e]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
⁹^(D)How long will you ^[f]slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
¹¹^(E)So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

The Wicked Man

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
¹³^(F)He winks with his eyes,
He ^[g]shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
¹⁴Perversity is in his heart,
^(G)He devises evil continually,
^(H)He sows discord.
¹⁵Therefore his calamity shall come ^(I)suddenly;
Suddenly he shall ^(J)be broken ^(K)without remedy.

¹⁶These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to ^[h]Him:
¹⁷^(L)A^[i] proud look,
^(M)A lying tongue,
^(N)Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸^(O)A heart that devises wicked plans,
^(P)Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹^(Q)A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who ^(R)sows discord among brethren.

Beware of Adultery

²⁰^(S)My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
²¹^(T)Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²²^(U)When you roam, ^[j]they will lead you;
When you sleep, ^(V)they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
²³^(W)For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
²⁴^(X)To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
²⁵^(Y)Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
²⁶For ^(Z)by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
^(AA)And ^[k]an adulteress will ^(AB)prey upon his precious life.
²⁷Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

³⁰People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
³¹Yet when he is found, ^(AC)he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
³²Whoever commits adultery with a woman ^(AD)lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
³³Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
³⁴For ^(AE)jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
³⁵He will ^[l]accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

Footnotes

Proverbs 6:1 guaranty or collateral
Proverbs 6:1 Lit. struck
Proverbs 6:5 One who catches birds in a trap or snare
Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread
Proverbs 6:9 Lit. lie down
Proverbs 6:13 gives signals, lit. scrapes
Proverbs 6:16 Lit. His soul
Proverbs 6:17 Lit. Haughty eyes
Proverbs 6:22 Lit. it
Proverbs 6:26 Wife of another, lit. a man’s wife
Proverbs 6:35 Lit. lift up the face of any

James 3-5

New King James Version

The Untamable Tongue

3 My brethren, ^(A)let not many of you become teachers, ^(B)knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ²For ^(C)we all stumble in many things. ^(D)If anyone does not stumble in word, ^(E)he is a ^[a]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ³^[b]Indeed, ^(F)we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵Even so ^(G)the tongue is a little member and ^(H)boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶And ^(I)the tongue is a fire, a world of ^[c]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it ^(J)defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of ^[d]nature; and it is set on fire by ^[e]hell. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, ^(K)full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made ^(L)in the ^[f]similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹²Can a ^(M)fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? ^[g]Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom

¹³^(N)Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have ^(O)bitter envy and ^[h]self-seeking in your hearts, ^(P)do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵^(Q)This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶For ^(R)where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷But ^(S)the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, ^(T)without partiality ^(U)and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸^(V)Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Pride Promotes Strife

4 Where do ^[i]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure ^(W)that war in your members? ²You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and ^[j]war. ^[k]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ³^(X)You ask and do not receive, ^(Y)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. ⁴^[l]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that ^(Z)friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(AA)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ^(AB)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

^(AC)“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Humility Cures Worldliness

⁷Therefore submit to God. ^(AD)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸^(AE)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^(AF)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^(AG)purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹^(AH)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰^(AI)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

¹¹^(AJ)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother ^(AK)and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is one ^[m]Lawgiver, ^(AL)who is able to save and to destroy. ^(AM)Who^[n] are you to judge ^[o]another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow ^[p]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? ^(AN)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ^(AO)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But now you boast in your arrogance. ^(AP)All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Therefore, ^(AQ)to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

5 Come now, you ^(AR)rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! ²Your ^(AS)riches ^[q]are corrupted, and ^(AT)your garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(AU)You have heaped up treasure in the last days. ⁴Indeed ^(AV)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and ^(AW)the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of ^[r]Sabaoth. ⁵You have lived on the earth in pleasure and ^[s]luxury; you have ^[t]fattened your hearts ^[u]as in a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

⁷Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^[v]is at hand.

⁹Do not ^[w]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be ^[x]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰^(AX)My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and ^(AY)patience. ¹¹Indeed ^(AZ)we count them blessed who ^(BA)endure. You have heard of ^(BB)the perseverance of Job and seen ^(BC)the end intended by the Lord—that ^(BD)the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

¹²But above all, my brethren, ^(BE)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into ^[y]judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs^(BF)

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him ^(BG)pray. Is anyone cheerful? ^(BH)Let him sing psalms. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^(BI)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. ^(BJ)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶^[z]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. ^(BK)The effective, ^[aa]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. ¹⁷Elijah was a man ^(BL)with a nature like ours, and ^(BM)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed ^(BN)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

¹⁹Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone ^(BO)turns him back, ²⁰let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way ^(BP)will save ^[ab]a soul from death and ^(BQ)cover a multitude of sins.