58 The chapter advises release from foolish indebtedness (1–5), admonishes avoiding laziness (6–11), warns of the danger of poverty (9–11) and deviousness (12–15), lists conduct that the Lord hates (16–19), and warns about immorality (20–35).
1 Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 3, 20).
2 It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known (זָר, zar), perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible.
3 The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
4 Heb “struck your hands”; “have struck hands in pledge”; “have given a pledge.” The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26).
5 Heb “stranger.” The term זוּר (zur, “stranger”) probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.
6 The term “if” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
7 The verb יָקַשׁ (yaqash) means “to lay a bait; to lure; to lay snares.” In the Niphal it means “to be caught by bait; to be ensnared”—here in a business entanglement.
8 Heb “by the words of your mouth.” The same expression occurs at the end of the following line (cf. , , ). Many English versions vary the wording slightly, presumably for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy (e.g., , , , ).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger,

if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

you have been trapped by what you said,

ensnared by the words of your mouth.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor

or entered into an agreement with a stranger,

you have been snared by the words of your mouth

trapped by the words from your mouth.

NLTNew Living Translation

My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt

or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—

if you have trapped yourself by your agreement

and are caught by what you said—

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

My child, if you have pledged to your neighbor,

if you have bound yourself to the stranger,

if you are snared by the sayings of your mouth,

if you are caught by the sayings of your mouth,

KJV 1900King James Version

My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,

If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

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Proverbs 6:1–2

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Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts58

Footnotes