6 My child, be careful not to promise more than you can really do. You may have promised to pay the debts of a friend or of a stranger. 2 Then what you have promised to do may become a trap that catches you.
3 Now you need to escape from your problem. Your friend has got power over you. So you must be humble. Go quickly to him and ask him to forgive the debt. 4 Do not let yourself sleep or even stop to rest until you have met with him. 5 You must make yourself free from the trap. Escape quickly, like a bird or a deer that runs away from a hunter.
6 Learn a lesson from the ants, you lazy person! See how hard they work. 7 They have no leader or ruler, 8 but they get their food during the summer. At the time of harvest they store food to prepare for winter.
9 But you, you lazy man, you lie in bed too long! Will you never get up to work? 10 You say, ‘I will have a short sleep. I will rest quietly for a while.’ 11 But while you sleep you will suddenly become poor. You will have nothing, as if someone has robbed you.
12 A useless, wicked person is always deceiving people. 13 He sends secret messages with his eyes, his feet or his fingers. 14 He uses evil thoughts to decide how he will hurt people. Wherever he goes, there is trouble.
15 Because of this, trouble will suddenly happen to him. It will knock him down and he will never get up again.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates, or even seven things:
17 Eyes that show how proud a person is.
A mouth that speaks lies.
Hands that kill people who have done nothing wrong.
18 A mind that chooses to do wicked things.
Feet that hurry to do evil things.
19 A person who tells lies in court.
A person who causes trouble in a family.
20 My child, obey your father's commands. Do not forget what your mother has taught you. 21 Keep their teaching in your thoughts. Keep it as near to you as a necklace that you wear.
22 Wherever you go in life, their words will be your guide. They will keep you safe while you sleep. When you wake up, they will teach you.
23 Their commands and their teaching are like a lamp that gives you light. When they warn you that you are doing wrong things, that helps you to live well.
24 They will keep you safe from any bad woman, so that the sweet words of an adulteress will not deceive you. 25 Do not keep thinking how beautiful her body is. Do not let her use her eyes like a trap to catch you.
26 If you sleep with a prostitute, that may cost the price of a meal. But if you sleep with another man's wife, you may pay with your life.
27 You cannot carry fire next to your body and not burn your clothes. 28 You cannot walk over hot pieces of coal and not burn your feet. 29 It is the same when a man has sex with another man's wife. Anyone who does that will receive punishment that hurts him.
30 People may excuse someone who steals food because he is hungry. [ a ] 31 But if someone catches him, he must pay back seven times what he took. He may lose everything that he has in his house.
32 But a man who sleeps with another man's wife is stupid. He is destroying his own life. 33 He deserves his punishment and shame. He will never stop being ashamed.
34 The woman's husband will be jealous, and he will become very angry. He will want the man to receive full punishment. 35 He will not accept any money or bribe to pay the debt, even if it is a lot of money.
6 My son, don’t make yourself responsible for the debts of others. Don’t make such deals with friends or strangers. 2 If you do, your words will trap you. 3 You will be under the power of other people, so you must go and free yourself. Beg them to free you from that debt. 4 Don’t wait to rest or sleep. 5 Escape from that trap like a deer running from a hunter. Free yourself like a bird flying from a trap.
6 You lazy people, you should watch what the ants do and learn from them. 7 Ants have no ruler, no boss, and no leader. 8 But in the summer, ants gather all of their food and save it. So when winter comes, there is plenty to eat.
9 You lazy people, how long are you going to lie there? When will you get up? 10 You say, “I need a rest. I think I’ll take a short nap.” 11 But then you sleep and sleep and become poorer and poorer. Soon you will have nothing. It will be as if a thief came and stole everything you owned.
12 Some people are just troublemakers. They are always thinking up some crooked plan and telling lies. 13 They use secret signals to cheat people; they wink their eyes, shuffle their feet, and point a finger. 14 They are always planning to do something bad. 15 But they will be punished. Disaster will strike, and they will be destroyed. There will be no one to help them.
16 The Lord hates these seven things:
17 eyes that show pride,
tongues that tell lies,
hands that kill innocent people,
18 hearts that plan evil things to do,
feet that run to do evil,
19 witnesses in court who tell lies,
and anyone who causes family members to fight.
20 My son, remember your father’s command, and don’t forget your mother’s teaching. 21 Remember their words always. Tie them around your neck and keep them over your heart. 22 Let this teaching lead you wherever you go. It will watch over you while you sleep. And when you wake up, it will give you good advice.
23 Your parents give you commands and teachings that are like lights to show you the right way. This teaching corrects you and trains you to follow the path to life. 24 It stops you from going to an evil woman, and it protects you from the smooth talk of another man’s wife. 25 Such a woman might be beautiful, but don’t let that beauty tempt you. Don’t let her eyes capture you. 26 A prostitute might cost a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man could cost you your life. 27 If you drop a hot coal in your lap, your clothes will be burned. 28 If you step on one, your feet will be burned. 29 If you sleep with another man’s wife, you will be punished.
30-31 A hungry man might steal to fill his stomach. If he is caught, he must pay seven times more than he stole. It might cost him everything he owns, but other people understand. They don’t lose all their respect for him. 32 But a man who commits adultery is a fool. He brings about his own destruction. 33 He will suffer disease and disgrace and never be free from the shame. 34 The woman’s husband will be jealous and angry and do everything he can to get revenge. 35 No payment—no amount of money—will stop him.
6 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 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.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 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.
6 My son, if you have become a ( A ) guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
2 If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
3 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 .
4 Give no ( B ) sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a ( C ) bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ( D ) ant, you [ b ] ( E ) lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
7 Which, having ( F ) no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
8 Prepares its food ( G ) in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, you [ c ] lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “ ( H ) A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [ d ] rest,”
11 ( I ) Then your poverty will come in like a [ e ] drifter,
And your need like [ f ] an armed man.
12 A ( J ) worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a ( K ) perverse mouth,
13 Who ( L ) winks with his eyes, who [ g ] signals with his feet,
Who [ h ] points with his fingers;
14 Who, with ( M ) perversion in his heart, continually ( N ) devises evil,
Who [ i ] ( O ) spreads strife.
15 Therefore ( P ) his disaster will come suddenly;
( Q ) Instantly he will be broken and there will be ( R ) no healing.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination [ j ] to Him:
17 ( S ) Haughty eyes, a ( T ) lying tongue,
And hands that ( U ) shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises ( V ) wicked plans,
( W ) Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A ( X ) false witness who declares lies,
And one who [ k ] ( Y ) spreads strife among brothers.
20 ( Z ) My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the [ l ] teaching of your mother;
21 ( AA ) Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you ( AB ) walk, [ m ] they will guide you;
When you sleep, [ n ] they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [ o ] they will talk to you.
23 For ( AC ) the commandment is a lamp and the [ p ] teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
24 To ( AD ) keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 ( AE ) Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ( AF ) eyelids.
26 For ( AG ) the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And [ q ] an adulteress ( AH ) hunts for a precious life.
27 Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who ( AI ) goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ( AJ ) will not [ r ] go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To ( AK ) satisfy [ s ] himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must ( AL ) repay seven times as much ;
He must give up all the property of his house.
32 One who commits adultery with a woman is ( AM ) lacking [ t ] sense;
He who would ( AN ) destroy [ u ] himself commits it.
33 He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
34 For ( AO ) jealousy [ v ] enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the ( AP ) day of vengeance.
35 He will not [ w ] accept any settlement,
Nor will he be [ x ] satisfied though you make it a large gift.
6 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,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 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!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids. ( E )
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle ( F ) from the hand of the hunter, ( G )
like a bird from the snare of the fowler. ( H )
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ( I )
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer ( J )
and gathers its food at harvest. ( K )
9 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 )
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.
