Proverbs 6
6
Practical Warnings
1My son, if you have put up #See Job 17:3security for your neighbor,
have #See Job 17:3given your pledge for a stranger,
2if you are #[ch. 5:22]snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten,#6:3 Or humble yourself and #[Luke 11:8; 18:5]plead urgently with your neighbor.
4 # ch. 20:13; Ps. 132:4 Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,#6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
# See Ps. 91:3 like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 # [Job 12:7] Go to #ch. 30:25 the ant, O #ch. 10:26 sluggard;
consider her ways, and #ch. 23:19; 27:11be wise.
7 # [ch. 30:27] Without having any chief,
#
Ex. 5:6, 15 officer, or ruler,
8she prepares her bread #[ch. 10:5] in summer
and #[ch. 10:5]gathers her food in harvest.
9 # [Jonah 1:6] How long will you lie there, #[See ver. 6 above]O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 # ch. 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
#
Eccles. 4:5
a little #ch. 24:33 folding of the hands to rest,
11 # ch. 24:34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
12 # ch. 16:27 A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with #ch. 4:24crooked speech,
13 # ch. 10:10; Ps. 35:19 winks with his eyes, signals#6:13 Hebrew scrapes with his feet,
points with his finger,
14with #See ch. 2:12 perverted heart #[Mic. 2:1]; See ch. 3:29 devises evil,
continually #[ch. 16:28]sowing discord;
15therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
#
Isa. 30:13, 14; Jer. 19:11 in a moment he will be broken #ch. 29:1; 2 Chr. 36:16beyond healing.
16There are #See Job 5:19six things that the Lord hates,
# See Job 5:19 seven that are an abomination to him:
17 # [ch. 8:13; 16:5; 21:4]; See Ps. 101:5 haughty eyes, #ch. 12:22; 17:7; Ps. 31:18; 120:2 a lying tongue,
and #Deut. 19:10; Isa. 1:15; 59:3, 7hands that shed innocent blood,
18 #
Gen. 6:5 a heart that devises wicked plans,
# See ch. 1:16 feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 # See Ps. 27:12 a false witness who #ch. 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9 breathes out lies,
and one who #[See ver. 14 above]sows discord among brothers.
Warnings Against Adultery
20 # See ch. 1:8 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
# See ch. 1:8 and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21 # See ch. 3:3 Bind them on your heart always;
# [Job 31:36] tie them around your neck.
22 # See ch. 3:23, 24 When you walk, they#6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse will lead you;
# See ch. 3:23, 24 when you lie down, they will #ch. 2:11watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23For the commandment is #Ps. 119:105; [Ps. 13:3] a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the #[ch. 10:17]reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24to preserve you from the evil woman,#6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
from the smooth tongue of #See ch. 2:16the adulteress.#6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
25 # [Matt. 5:28] Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her #[2 Kgs. 9:30]eyelashes;
26for #[ch. 29:3] the price of a prostitute is only #ch. 28:21; 1 Sam. 2:36 a loaf of bread,#6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
but a married woman#6:26 Hebrew a man’s wife #Ezek. 13:18hunts down a precious life.
27Can a man carry #Job 31:12 fire next to his #Ps. 79:12chest
and his clothes not be burned?
28Or can one #Isa. 43:2walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her #ch. 16:5will go unpunished.
30People do not despise a thief if he steals
to #Job 38:39satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31but #[Ex. 22:4] if he is caught, he will pay #See Ps. 79:12sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
32He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
33He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34For #ch. 27:4; Song 8:6 jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when #[Lev. 20:10]he takes revenge.
35He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Proverbs 6
6
Avoid Disaster
1My son,
if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor
or pledge yourself for a stranger with a handshake,
2you are trapped by the words of your own mouth,
caught by your own promise.
3Do the following things, my son, so that you may free yourself,
because you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Humble yourself,
and pester your neighbor.
4Don’t let your eyes rest
or your eyelids close.
5Free yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter
and like a bird from the hand of a hunter.
6Consider the ant, you lazy bum.
Watch its ways, and become wise.
7Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,
8in summertime it stores its food supply.
At harvest time it gathers its food.
9How long will you lie there, you lazy bum?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10“Just a little sleep,
just a little slumber,
just a little nap.”
11Then your poverty will come ⌞to you⌟ like a drifter,
and your need will come ⌞to you⌟ like a bandit.
12A good-for-nothing scoundrel is a person who has a dishonest mouth.
13He winks his eye,
makes a signal with his foot,
⌞and⌟ points with his fingers.
14He devises evil all the time with a twisted mind.
He spreads conflict.
15That is why disaster will come on him suddenly.
In a moment he will be crushed beyond recovery.
16There are six things that the Lord hates,
even seven that are disgusting to him:
17arrogant eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill innocent people,
18a mind devising wicked plans,
feet that are quick to do wrong,
19a dishonest witness spitting out lies,
and a person who spreads conflict among relatives.
More Advice about Avoiding Adultery
20My son,
obey the command of your father,
and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.
21Fasten them on your heart forever.
Hang them around your neck.
22When you walk around, they will lead you.
When you lie down, they will watch over you.
When you wake up, they will talk to you
23because the command is a lamp,
the teachings are a light,
and the warnings from discipline are the path of life
24to keep you from an evil woman
and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.
25Do not desire her beauty in your heart.
Do not let her catch you with her eyes.
26A prostitute’s price is ⌞only⌟ a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts for ⌞your⌟ life itself.
27Can a man carry fire in his lap
without burning his clothes?
28Can anyone walk on red-hot coals
without burning his feet?
29So it is with a man who has sex with his neighbor’s wife.
None who touch her will escape punishment.
30People do not despise a thief who is hungry
when he steals to satisfy his appetite,
31but when he is caught,
he has to repay it seven times.
He must give up all the possessions in his house.
32Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense.
Whoever does this destroys himself.
33An adulterous man will find disease #6:33 Or “wounds.” and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be blotted out,
34because jealousy arouses a husband’s fury.
The husband will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35No amount of money will change his mind.
The largest bribe will not satisfy him.
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