Parental Counsel

My son, if you have become a (A)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the [a]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
Give no (B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a (C)bird from the hand of the fowler.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Lit palm

The Folly of Guaranteeing Loans

My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor,
if you have agreed to a deal[a] with a stranger,
trapped by your own words,
    and caught by your own words,
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!
Don’t allow yourself to sleep
    or even to close your eyes.
Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hunter’s hand,[c]
    or like a bird from a fowler’s hand.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:1 Lit. have clapped your hands; i.e. have shaken hands
  2. Proverbs 6:3 Lit. into the hands of your neighbor
  3. Proverbs 6:5 So MT; LXX Syr Targ read from the hunter; or a noose

17 A (A)friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.

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17 A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is there[a] for times of trouble.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:17 Lit. born

10 If you (A)show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress,
Your strength is meager.

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10 If you grow weary when times are troubled,
    your strength is limited.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:10 Or undersized

10 Do not abandon your (A)friend or (B)your father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your disaster;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

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10 Never abandon your friend nor your father’s friend,
    and don’t go to your brother’s house in times of trouble.
A neighbor who is near is better
    than a brother who lives far away.

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