Proverbs 6

Against Pledges

6My child, if you have pledged to your neighbor,

if you have bound yourself^a to the stranger,

²if you are snared by the sayings of your mouth,

if you are caught by the sayings of your mouth,

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

for you have come into the palm of your neighbor’s hand:^b

Go, humble yourself, plead with your neighbor.

⁴Do not give sleep to your eyes,

or slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from a hand,

or like a bird from the hand of a fowler.

Against Sloth

⁶Go to the ant, lazy!

Consider its ways and be wise.

⁷It has no chief,

officer, or ruler.

⁸In the summer, it prepares its food;

in the harvest, it gathers its sustenance.

⁹How long will you lie down, lazy?

When will you rise up from your sleep?

¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands for rest—

¹¹like a robber^c shall your poverty come,

and what you lack like an armed man.

Against Worthlessness

¹²A worthless man, an evil man,

goes around with deceitful speech.^d

¹³Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot,

pointing in his fingers,

¹⁴perversion in his heart, he devises evil;

at all times he will send out discord.^e

¹⁵Upon such a man,^f suddenly shall his calamity come;

in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.^g

What Yahweh Hates

¹⁶There are six things Yahweh hates,

and seven things are abominations of his soul:^h

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸a devising heart, plans of deception,

feet that hurry to run to evil,ⁱ

¹⁹a false witness who breathes lies

and sends out discord^j between brothers.

Commandment and Instruction as Guardians

²⁰My child, keep the commandment of your father,

and do not disregard the instruction of your mother.

²¹Bind them on your heart continually;

tie them upon your neck.

²²When you walk,^k she^l will lead you,

When you lie down,^m she will watch over you,

and when you awake, she will converse with you.

²³For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,

and the way of lifeⁿ is the reproof of discipline,

²⁴in order to preserve you from an evil woman,^o

from the smoothness of the tongue of an adulteress.^p

²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart;

may she not capture you with her eyelashes.

²⁶For the price of a woman, a prostitute,^q is the price of a loaf of bread,

but the woman belonging to a man^r hunts precious life.

Warning Against Relations with a Married Woman

²⁷Can a man carry fire in his lap,

and his clothes not burn?

²⁸If a man walks upon the hot coals,

will his feet not be burned?

²⁹Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor,

any who touches her shall not go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief when he steals

to fill himself^s when he is hungry.

³¹But if he is found, he will pay sevenfold,

every possession of his house he shall give.

³²He who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense,^t

he destroys himself^u who does it.

³³A wound and dishonor he will find,

and his disgrace will not be wiped out.

³⁴For jealousy is the fury of a husband,

and he will not show restraint on the day of revenge.

³⁵He will not accept any compensation,^v

and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.