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My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Sự Bảo Lãnh

Hỡi con ta, nếu con bảo lãnh cho người láng giềng;
    Nếu con đưa tay hứa với một người lạ.
Nếu con bị mắc bẫy vì môi miệng;
    Nếu con bị mắc bẫy vì lời nói mình.
Hỡi con ta, hãy làm thế này để giải cứu mình.
    Vì con đã lọt vào tay kẻ láng giềng con;
    Hãy đến, cúi đầu nài xin kẻ láng giềng con.
Đừng để cho mắt con ngủ;
    Chớ để cho mí mắt con khép lại.
Hãy thoát thân như nai tơ thoát khỏi tay thợ săn;[a]
    Như chim thoát khỏi tay người đánh bẫy.

Lười Biếng

Hỡi kẻ lười biếng, hãy đến xem con kiến;
    Hãy xem đường lối nó để trở nên khôn ngoan.
Nó không có người lãnh đạo,
    Giám đốc hay người cai trị;
Nhưng nó tích trữ lương thực vào mùa hè
    Và thu nhặt thực phẩm trong mùa gặt.
Hỡi kẻ lười biếng, ngươi còn nằm cho đến chừng nào?
    Bao giờ ngươi mới thức dậy?
10 Ngủ một chút; chợp mắt một chút;
    Khoanh tay nằm nghỉ một chút;
11 Thế là sự nghèo khó của ngươi sẽ đến như kẻ cướp,
    Và sự thiếu thốn của ngươi sẽ đến như người lính nơi chiến trận.[b]

Sự Gian Tà

12 Người nào sống với môi miệng gian dối
    Là kẻ vô loài, người gian ác.
13     Hắn nháy mắt làm ám hiệu;
    Khều chân,
    Chỉ ngón tay làm dấu;
14     Người có lòng gian tà, âm mưu điều ác;
    Lúc nào cũng gieo điều bất hòa.
15 Cho nên tai họa sẽ thình lình kéo đến,
    Trong chốc lát nó sẽ bị hủy diệt không phương cứu chữa.

Những Điều CHÚA Ghét

16 Có sáu điều CHÚA ghét
    Và bảy điều Ngài ghê tởm:
17     Con mắt tự cao;
    Lưỡi dối trá;
    Bàn tay đổ máu vô tội;
18     Lòng toan tính những âm mưu gian ác;
    Chân vội vàng chạy đến điều dữ;
19     Nhân chứng gian thốt ra lời dối trá;
    Kẻ gieo điều bất hòa giữa vòng anh em.
20 Hỡi con ta, hãy giữ các điều răn của cha con
    Và chớ từ bỏ lời dạy dỗ của mẹ con.
21 Hãy luôn luôn ghi khắc nó trong lòng;
    Hãy đeo nó nơi cổ con.
22 Khi con đi, nó sẽ dẫn con;
    Khi con nằm nó sẽ bảo vệ con;
    Lúc con thức nó sẽ trò chuyện với con.
23 Vì điều răn là ngọn đèn;
    Sự dạy dỗ là ánh sáng
Và lời quở trách để giáo huấn
    Là con đường sự sống;
24 Để giữ con tránh khỏi người đàn bà gian ác;
    Khỏi lưỡi ngọt ngào của người đàn bà lạ.
25 Lòng con chớ thèm muốn sắc đẹp nó;
    Cũng đừng để mí mắt nó chiếm lấy con.
26 Vì gái điếm làm cho con chỉ còn một miếng bánh;[c]
    Nhưng người đàn bà ngoại tình[d] săn đuổi chính linh hồn quý giá của con.
27 Có thể nào một người mang lửa trên mình
    Mà quần áo không cháy sao?
28 Hay một người bước đi trên than lửa đỏ
    Mà chân không bị bỏng sao?
29 Người nào ngủ[e] với vợ người khác cũng như vậy;
    Ai đụng đến nàng sẽ không tránh khỏi hình phạt.
30 Một kẻ cắp sẽ không bị khinh
    Nếu nó đánh cắp để ăn khi đói khát.
31 Nhưng nếu nó bị bắt, nó phải đền gấp bảy lần;
    Nó phải trả bằng tất cả tài sản nhà nó.
32 Người ngoại tình là người mất hết tâm trí;
    Kẻ làm điều đó sẽ hủy diệt linh hồn[f] mình.
33 Người sẽ bị thương tích và bị sỉ nhục;
    Sự sỉ nhục của người sẽ không thể nào tẩy xóa được.
34 Vì ghen tuông là cơn thịnh nộ của người chồng;
    Người sẽ không dung thứ khi báo thù.
35 Người sẽ không chấp nhận bất cứ một sự đền bù nào;
    Dù con đút lót nhiều quà cáp người cũng không chịu.

Footnotes

  1. 6:5 Nt: tay; “thợ săn” được thêm vào cho rõ nghĩa và cân đối với vế dưới
  2. 6:11 Nt: người cầm khiên
  3. 6:26 Ctd: Vì gái điếm chỉ tốn một miếng bánh
  4. 6:26 Nt: vợ người khác
  5. 6:29 Nt: đến
  6. 6:32 Ctd: đời sống

Practical Warnings

My son, if you have put up (A)security for your neighbor,
    have (B)given your pledge for a stranger,
if you are (C)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,[a] and (D)plead urgently with your neighbor.
(E)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,[b]
    (F)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

(G)Go to (H)the ant, O (I)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and (J)be wise.
(K)Without having any chief,
    (L)officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread (M)in summer
    and (N)gathers her food in harvest.
(O)How long will you lie there, (P)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (Q)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    (R)a little (S)folding of the hands to rest,
11 (T)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

12 (U)A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with (V)crooked speech,
13 (W)winks with his eyes, signals[c] with his feet,
    points with his finger,
14 with (X)perverted heart (Y)devises evil,
    continually (Z)sowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    (AA)in a moment he will be broken (AB)beyond healing.

16 There are (AC)six things that the Lord hates,
    (AD)seven that are an abomination to him:
17 (AE)haughty eyes, (AF)a lying tongue,
    and (AG)hands that shed innocent blood,
18 (AH)a heart that devises wicked plans,
    (AI)feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 (AJ)a false witness who (AK)breathes out lies,
    and one who (AL)sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

20 (AM)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    (AN)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 (AO)Bind them on your heart always;
    (AP)tie them around your neck.
22 (AQ)When you walk, they[d] will lead you;
    (AR)when you lie down, they will (AS)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is (AT)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the (AU)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[e]
    from the smooth tongue of (AV)the adulteress.[f]
25 (AW)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her (AX)eyelashes;
26 for (AY)the price of a prostitute is only (AZ)a loaf of bread,[g]
    but a married woman[h] (BA)hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry (BB)fire next to his (BC)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one (BD)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her (BE)will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to (BF)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but (BG)if he is caught, he will pay (BH)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For (BI)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when (BJ)he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
  2. Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
  3. Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
  4. Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
  5. Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
  6. Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
  7. Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
  8. Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife

Warnings Against Folly

My son,(A) if you have put up security(B) for your neighbor,(C)
    if you have shaken hands in pledge(D) for a stranger,
you have been trapped by what you said,
    ensnared by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my son, to free yourself,
    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a]
    and give your neighbor no rest!
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
    no slumber to your eyelids.(E)
Free yourself, like a gazelle(F) from the hand of the hunter,(G)
    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(H)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;(I)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(J)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(K)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(L)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(M)
11 and poverty(N) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

12 A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13     who winks maliciously with his eye,(O)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,(P)
14     who plots evil(Q) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.(R)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(S)
    he will suddenly(T) be destroyed—without remedy.(U)

16 There are six things the Lord hates,(V)
    seven that are detestable to him:
17         haughty eyes,(W)
        a lying tongue,(X)
        hands that shed innocent blood,(Y)
18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,(Z)
19         a false witness(AA) who pours out lies(AB)
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(AC)

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(AD) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(AE)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(AF)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(AG)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(AH)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(AI)

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(AJ)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(AK) with another man’s wife;(AL)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(AM)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(AN) has no sense;(AO)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never(AP) be wiped away.

34 For jealousy(AQ) arouses a husband’s fury,(AR)
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,

Dangerous Promises

My son, (A)if you become [a]surety for your friend,
If you have [b]shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
So 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.
(B)Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
Deliver 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

(C)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no [d]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her [e]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
(D)How long will you [f]slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A 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

12 A 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;
14 Perversity is in his heart,
(G)He devises evil continually,
(H)He sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity shall come (I)suddenly;
Suddenly he shall (J)be broken (K)without remedy.

16 These 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.
26 For (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.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

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

Footnotes

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