Proverbs 6
1My son, if thou become surety for thy friend, 1 Thou shalt deliver thy hand to an enemy. 1
2For a man’s own lips become a strong snare to him, 1 And he is caught with the lips of his own mouth. 1
3My son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; 1 For on thy friend’s account thou art come into the power of evil men: 1 Faint not, 1 But stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety. 1
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, 1 Nor slumber with thine eyelids; 1
5That thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, 1 And as a bird out of a snare. 1
6Go to the ant, O sluggard; 1 And see, and emulate his ways, 1 And become wiser than he. 1
7For whereas he has no husbandry, 1 Nor anyone to compel him, 1 And is under no master, 1
8c Though weak in body, 1 She is advanced by honoring wisdom. 1
9How long wilt thou lie, O sluggard? 1 And when wilt thou awake out of sleep? 1
10Thou sleepest a little, and thou restest a little, and thou slumberest a short time, 1 And thou foldest thine arms over thy breast a little. 1
11a But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall arrive as a fountain, 1 And poverty shall flee away as a bad courier. 1
12A foolish man and a transgressor 1 Goes in ways that are not good. 1
13And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, 1 And teaches with the beckonings of his fingers. 1
14His perverse heart devises evils: 1 At all times such a one causes troubles to a city. 1
15Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; 1 Overthrow and irretrievable ruin. 1
16For he rejoices in all things which God hates, 1 And he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul. 1
17The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, 1 Hands shedding the blood of the just; 1
18And a heart devising evil thoughts, 1 And feet hastening to do evil— are hateful to God. 1
19An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, 1 And brings on quarrels between brethren. 1
20My son, keep the laws of thy father, 1 And reject not the ordinances of thy mother: 1
21But bind them upon thy soul continually, 1 And hang them as a chain about thy neck. 1
22Whensoever thou walkest, lead this along and let it be with thee; 1 And when thou sleepest let it keep thee; 1 That it may talk with thee when thou wakest. 1
23For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; 1 A way of life; reproof also and correction: 1
24To keep thee continually from a married woman, 1 And from the calumny of a strange tongue. 1
25Let not the desire of beauty overcome thee, 1 Neither be thou caught by thine eyes, 1 Neither be captivated with her eyelids. 1
26For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; 1 And a woman hunts for the precious souls of men. 1
27Shall anyone bind fire in his bosom, 1 And not burn his garments? 1
28Or will anyone walk on coals of fire, 1 And not burn his feet? 1
29So is he that goes in to a married woman; 1 He shall not be held guiltless, neither anyone that touches her. 1
30It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, 1 For he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul: 1
31But if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, 1 And shall deliver himself by giving all his goods. 1
32But the adulterer through want of sense procures destruction to his soul. 1
33He endures both pain and disgrace, 1 And his reproach shall never be wiped off. 1
34For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: 1 He will not spare in the day of vengeance. 1
35He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: 1 Neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.