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)

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Footnotes

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

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

15 Whoever puts up security(A) for a stranger will surely suffer,
    but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.(B)

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15 One who is a (A)guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it,
But one who hates [a]being a guarantor is secure.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:15 Lit those who strike hands

18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
    and puts up security for a neighbor.(A)

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18 A person lacking in [a]sense (A)shakes hands
And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:18 Lit heart

16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge(A) if it is done for an outsider.(B)

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16 Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger;
And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.

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Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(A)
    or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.(B)

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26 Do not be among those who (A)shake hands,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to repay,
Why should he (B)take your bed from under you?

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