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,

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

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 Securing a loan for a stranger will bring suffering,
    but by refusing to do so, one remains safe.

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

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18 A man who lacks sense[a] cosigns a loan,[b]
    becoming a guarantor for his neighbor.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:18 Lit. heart
  2. Proverbs 17:18 Lit. sense strikes the palm

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 the garment of anyone who puts up collateral for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if he does it for an unfamiliar woman.

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The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is slave to the lender.

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The wealthy rule over the poor,
    and anyone who borrows is a slave to the lender.

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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 Don’t be one of those who make promises
    to guarantee loans for debts.
27 If you don’t have the ability to pay,
    why should your very bed be taken from under you?

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

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13 Take the coat of anyone who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if he cosigns for an immoral woman.

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