ProverbsChapter 6
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1My son, if you have promised to pay your neighbor's debt,
if you have shaken hands to make a promise for a stranger, 2if you have been trapped by what you said,
caught by the words of your mouth, 3then do this, my son, to set yourself free,
for you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself.
Keep begging your neighbor. 4Don't let your eyes sleep.
Don't let your eyelids rest. 5Free yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand.
Free yourself like a bird from the trap of the bird catcher. 6Go to the ant, you lazy person.
Watch how it lives, and become wise. 7It has no commander.
It has no boss or ruler. 8Yet it stores up its food in summer.
It gathers its food at harvest time. 9How long will you lie there, you lazy person?
When will you get up from your sleep? 10A little sleep, a little nap,
a little folding of the hands to rest, 11and being poor will come on you like a robber.
Need will come on you like a bandit. 12A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes around saying twisted things. 13He winks his eyes.
He signals with his feet.
He points with his fingers. 14His heart is full of lies, and he plans evil.
He is always causing fights. 15So disaster will come on him all at once.
In a moment he will be broken, and no one can fix it. 16There are six things the LORD hates.
There are seven things he finds disgusting: 17eyes that are proud,
a tongue that lies,
hands that kill innocent people, 18a heart that makes wicked plans,
feet that run quickly to do evil, 19a false witness who tells lies,
and a person who stirs up fights among brothers. 20My son, keep your father's command.
Don't turn away from your mother's teaching. 21Always hold them close to your heart.
Tie them around your neck. 22When you walk, they will guide you.
When you lie down, they will watch over you.
When you wake up, they will speak to you. 23For this command is a lamp.
This teaching is a light.
The warnings of discipline are the way to life. 24They will keep you from the evil woman.
They will keep you from the smooth talk of a woman who cheats on her husband. 25Don't let your heart want her beauty.
Don't let her catch you with her eyes. 26For the price of a prostitute is being poor.
A woman who cheats on her husband hunts for your very life. 27Can a man hold fire against his chest
and not burn his clothes? 28Can a man walk on hot coals
without burning his feet? 29It is the same for the man who sleeps with another man's wife.
No one who touches her will go unpunished. 30People don't hate a thief
if he steals because he is hungry. 31But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times as much.
He must give up everything his house owns. 32A man who commits adultery has no sense.
Whoever does it destroys himself. 33He will get wounds and shame.
His disgrace will never be wiped away. 34For jealousy makes a husband very angry.
He will show no mercy when he takes revenge. 35He will not accept any payment.
He will not be won over, even by many gifts.