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,
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
3 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.
4 (B)Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 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
6 (C)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having no [d]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
8 Provides 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?
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
- 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
Proverbs 6
English Standard Version
Practical Warnings
6 My son, if you have put up (A)security for your neighbor,
have (B)given your pledge for a stranger,
2 if you are (C)snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3 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.
4 (E)Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,[b]
(F)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 (G)Go to (H)the ant, O (I)sluggard;
consider her ways, and (J)be wise.
7 (K)Without having any chief,
(L)officer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread (M)in summer
and (N)gathers her food in harvest.
9 (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
- Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
- Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
- Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
- Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
- Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
- Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
- Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
- Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife
箴言 6
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
替人作保要谨慎
6 我儿，如果你作朋友的保证人，
替外人击掌担保；
2 如果你给自己口里的话缠累，
给你口里的话绑住；
3 我儿，既然你落在你朋友的手中，
就要这样行，好解救你自己，
你要自己降卑，去恳求你的朋友。
4 不要让你的眼睛睡觉，
不要容你的眼睑打盹；
5 要解救自己，像羚羊脱离猎人的手，
像飞鸟脱离捕鸟人的手。
不可懒惰
6 懒惰人哪！你去看看蚂蚁，
察看牠们所行的，就可得着智慧。
7 蚂蚁没有元帅，
没有官长，也没有统治者，
8 尚且在夏天预备食物，
在收割的时候积聚粮食。
9 懒惰人哪，你要睡到几时呢？
你甚么时候才睡醒呢？
10 再睡片时，打盹片时，
抱着手躺卧片时，
11 你的贫穷就必像强盗来到，
你的缺乏就必像拿兵器的人来到。
耶和华憎恶的事
12 无赖汉、坏人
到处使用欺诈的口；
13 他以眼传神，用脚示意，
用指头指点，
14 心存乖谬，图谋恶事，
常常散布纷争。
15 因此，灾难必忽然临到，
他必突然毁灭，无法挽救。
16 耶和华恨恶的事有六样，
连他心里厌恶的，共有七样，
17 就是高傲的眼、
说谎的舌头、
流无辜人血的手、
18 图谋恶事的心、
快跑行恶的脚、
19 说谎的假证人，
和在弟兄中散布纷争的人。
犯奸淫的必惹祸患
20 我儿，要谨守你父亲的诫命，
不可离弃你母亲的训诲。
21 要把它们常常系在你的心上，
绑在你的颈项上。
22 你行走的时候，它们必引导你；
你睡觉的时候，它们必保护你；
你醒来的时候，它们必和你交谈。
23 因为诫命是灯，训诲是光，
出于管教的责备是生命之道，
24 能保护你远离邪恶的女人，
远离妓女谄媚的舌头。
25 你心里不要贪恋她的美色，
也不要给她的媚眼勾引。
26 因为妓女使人只剩一块饼，
通奸的妇人（“通奸的妇人”直译是“人的妻子”）猎取人宝贵的生命。
27 如果人把火藏在怀里，
他的衣服怎能不烧着呢？
28 如果人在火炭上行走，
他的脚怎能不灼伤呢？
29 凡是和别人的妻子通奸的，也是这样；
凡是亲近她的，都必不免受罚。
30 盗贼因饥饿偷窃充饥，
人不会鄙视他。
31 但如果他被捉住，就要七倍偿还，
要把他家里所有的财物都交出来。
32 和妇人通奸的，实在无知；
行这事的，是自我毁灭。
33 他必遭受击打，被凌辱，
他的耻辱永不能涂抹。
34 因为嫉妒激起了丈夫的烈怒，
使他在报仇的时候，必不留情。
35 任何赔偿，他都不接受，
纵使你馈送许多礼物，他也不肯罢休。
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.