Practical Warnings

6 My son, if you have put up esecurity for your neighbor,

have egiven your pledge for a stranger,

2  if you are fsnared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

3  then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten,1 and gplead urgently with your neighbor.

4  hGive your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

5  save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,2

ilike a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6  jGo to kthe ant, O lsluggard;

consider her ways, and mbe wise.

7  nWithout having any chief,

oofficer, or ruler,

8  she prepares her bread pin summer

and qgathers her food in harvest.

9  rHow long will you lie there, lO sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10  sA little sleep, a little slumber,

ta little sfolding of the hands to rest,

11  uand poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

12  vA worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with wcrooked speech,

13  xwinks with his eyes, signals3 with his feet,

points with his finger,

14  with yperverted heart zdevises evil,

continually asowing discord;

15  therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

bin a moment he will be broken cbeyond healing.

16  There are dsix things that the Lord hates,

dseven that are an abomination to him:

17  ehaughty eyes, fa lying tongue,

and ghands that shed innocent blood,

18  ha heart that devises wicked plans,

ifeet that make haste to run to evil,

19  ja false witness who kbreathes out lies,

and one who asows discord among brothers.