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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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 6
6
Like a Deer from the Hunter
1-5Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor
or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,
If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back
and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess.
You’re in that man’s clutches!
Go, put on a long face; act desperate.
Don’t procrastinate—
there’s no time to lose.
Run like a deer from the hunter,
fly like a bird from the trapper!
A Lesson from the Ant
6-11You lazy fool, look at an ant.
Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
All summer it stores up food;
at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your permanent houseguest!
Always Cooking Up Something Nasty
12-15Swindlers and scoundrels
talk out of both sides of their mouths.
They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet,
they cross their fingers behind their backs.
Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty,
always stirring up trouble.
Catastrophe is just around the corner for them,
a total wreck, their lives ruined beyond repair.
Seven Things God Hates
16-19Here are six things God hates,
and one more that he loathes with a passion:
eyes that are arrogant,
a tongue that lies,
hands that murder the innocent,
a heart that hatches evil plots,
feet that race down a wicked track,
a mouth that lies under oath,
a troublemaker in the family.
Warning on Adultery
20-23Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;
don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.
Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;
wear them like a scarf around your neck.
Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;
whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;
when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.
For sound advice is a beacon,
good teaching is a light,
moral discipline is a life path.
24-35They’ll protect you from promiscuous women,
from the seductive talk of some temptress.
Don’t lustfully fantasize on her beauty,
nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
You can buy an hour with a prostitute for a loaf of bread,
but a promiscuous woman may well eat you alive.
Can you build a fire in your lap
and not burn your pants?
Can you walk barefoot on hot coals
and not get blisters?
It’s the same when you have sex with your neighbor’s wife:
Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No excuses.
Hunger is no excuse
for a thief to steal;
When he’s caught he has to pay it back,
even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
Adultery is a brainless act,
soul-destroying, self-destructive;
Expect a bloody nose, a black eye,
and a reputation ruined for good.
For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband;
wild for revenge, he won’t make allowances.
Nothing you say or pay will make it all right;
neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.