6:1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
6:2 if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
6:3 then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!
6:4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
6:7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
6:8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest–
6:11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
6:12 A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
6:13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
6:14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart–he always stirs up dissension.
6:15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed–without remedy.
6:16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
6:18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
6:20 My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
6:21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.
6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
6:23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,
6:24 keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
6:25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,
6:26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
6:27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
6:28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
6:29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
6:30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
6:31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
6:32 But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
6:33 Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;
6:34 for jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
6:35 He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.
6:1 My son, if you have become a surety for your neighbor, / If you have given your hands as a pledge for a stranger,
6:2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; / You are caught by the words of your mouth.
6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, / Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor: / Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
6:4 Do not give sleep to your eyes, / Nor slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter s hand / And like a bird from the fowler s hand.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; / Consider its ways, and be wise,
6:7 Which, having no chief, / Officer, or ruler,
6:8 Prepares its food in summer / And gathers its sustenance in the harvest.
6:9 How long, sluggard, will you lie there? / When will you arise from your sleep?
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, / A little folding of the hands to rest,
6:11 And your poverty will come upon you like a robber, / And your want, like an armed man.
6:12 A worthless man, a wicked man, / Goes around with a perverse mouth,
6:13 Winking with his eyes, signaling with his feet, / Pointing with his fingers;
6:14 With perverseness in his heart, he is devising evil continually; / He injects discord.
6:15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; / In a moment he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
6:16 There are six things that Jehovah hates; / Indeed, seven that are an abomination to His soul:
6:17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, / And hands that shed innocent blood,
6:18 A heart that devises wicked schemes, / Feet that hurry to run to evil,
6:19 A false witness who utters lies, / And one who injects discord among brothers.
6:20 My son, keep the commandment of your father, / And do not reject the teaching of your mother;
6:21 Bind them continually on your heart; / Tie them around your neck.
6:22 When you walk about, it will guide you, / When you lie down, it will watch over you; / And when you awake, it will talk with you.
6:23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, / And the reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
6:24 To keep you from the evil woman, / From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
6:25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, / Nor let her catch you with her eyelids;
6:26 For the price of a harlot is a loaf of bread, / But the wife of another man hunts for the precious soul.
6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom / And his clothes not be burned?
6:28 Can a man walk on hot coals / And his feet not be scorched?
6:29 So it is with him who goes in to his neighbor s wife; / No one who touches her will be unpunished.
6:30 The thief is not despised if he steals / To satisfy himself when he is hungry;
6:31 But if he is found out, he shall restore sevenfold; / He must give over all the substance of his house.
6:32 He who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense; / He who does it destroys his own soul.
6:33 He will find wounds and dishonor, / And his reproach will not be wiped away.
6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man, / And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
6:35 He will not regard any ransom, / Nor will he be content if you give him great gifts.