Proverbs 20:16
Take away the vestments of him who stands up to vouch for a stranger, and take a pledge from him instead of from outsiders.
Catholic Public Domain Version
In The King James Version
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
In Context
15There is gold, and there are a multitude of jewels. But lips of knowledge are a precious vessel.
17The bread of lies is sweet to a man. But afterwards, his mouth will be filled with pebbles.
Cross References
Exodus 22:26If you take a garment from your neighbor as a pledge, you shall return it to him again before the setting of the sun.
Proverbs 5:3For the lips of a loose woman are like a dripping honeycomb, and her voice is smoother than oil.
Proverbs 7:5So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words.
Proverbs 11:15He will be afflicted with evil, who provides a guarantee for an outsider. But whoever is wary of traps shall be secure.
Proverbs 23:27For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 20:16
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. The lips of knowledge (a good understanding to guide the lips and a good elocution to diffuse the knowledge) are to be preferred far before gold, and pearl, and rubies; for, 1. They are more rare in themselves, more scarce and hard to be got. There is gold in many a man's pocket that has no grace in his heart. In Solomon's time there was plenty of gold ( 1 Kings x. 21 ) and abundance of rubies; every body wore them; they… Read the whole commentary →