Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts58

6:1 My child,1 if you have made a pledge2 for your neighbor,

and3 have become a guarantor4 for a stranger,5

6:2 if6 you have been ensnared7 by the words you have uttered,8

and have been caught by the words you have spoken,

6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,9

because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:10

go, humble yourself,11

and appeal firmly12 to your neighbor.

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes13

or slumber to your eyelids.

6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,14

and like a bird from the trap15 of the fowler.

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;16

observe its ways and be wise!

6:7 It has no commander,

overseer, or17 ruler,

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.18

6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?

When will you rise from your sleep?19

6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax,20

6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber,21

and your need like an armed man.22

6:12 A worthless and wicked person23

walks around saying perverse24 things;25

6:13 he winks with his eyes,

signals with his feet,

and points with his fingers;26

6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts27 in his heart,

he spreads contention28 at all times.

6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;

in an instant29 he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

even30 seven31 things that are an abomination to him:32

6:17 haughty eyes,33 a lying tongue,34

and hands that shed innocent blood,35

6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans,36

feet that are swift to run37 to evil,

6:19 a false witness who pours out lies,38

and a person who spreads discord39 among family members.40

6:20 My child, guard the commands of your father

and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.

6:21 Bind them41 on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

6:22 When you walk about,42 they43 will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up,44 they will talk45 to you.

6:23 For the commandments46 are like47 a lamp,48

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like49 the road leading to life,50

6:24 by keeping51 you from the evil woman,52

from the smooth tongue of53 the loose woman.54

6:25 Do not lust55 in your heart for her beauty,

and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;56

6:26 for on account57 of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man58 preys on your precious life.59

6:27 Can a man hold60 fire61 against his chest62

without63 burning his clothes?

6:28 Can64 a man walk on hot coals

without scorching his feet?

6:29 So it is with65 the one who has sex with66 his neighbor’s wife;

no one67 who touches68 her will escape69 punishment.70

6:30 People71 do not despise a thief when he steals

to fulfill his need72 when he is hungry.

6:31 Yet73 if he is caught74 he must repay75 seven times over,

he might even have to give76 all the wealth of his house.

6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom,77

whoever does it destroys his own life.78

6:33 He will be beaten and despised,79

and his reproach will not be wiped away;80

6:34 for jealousy kindles81 a husband’s82 rage,

and he will not show mercy83 when he takes revenge.

6:35 He will not consider84 any compensation;85

he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.86