Proverbs

6 My son if thou have become surety for thy neighbour,—have struck for a stranger thy hands

2 Thou hast been snared by the sayings of thy mouth,—Thou hast been caught by the sayings of thy mouth.

3 Do this then, my son, and deliver thyself When thou hast come into the hand of thy neighbour, Go, haste thee and urge thy neighbour;

4 Do not give Sleep to thine eyes, or Slumber to thine eyelashes;

5 Deliver thyself as a gazelle out of the hand, And as a bird out of the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise;

7 Which having no harvest, scribe, or ruler

8 Prepareth in the summer her food, Hath collected in the harvest her sustenance.

9 How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? How long ere thou rise from thy sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest:—

11 So shall come in as a highwayman thy poverty, And thy want as one armed with a shield.

12 An abandoned man, a man of iniquity [is he] who—Goeth on in perversity of mouth;

13 Winketh with his eyes, Speaketh with his foot, Pointeth with his fingers;

14 [Hath] perverse things in his heart, Deviseth mischief on every occasion, Strifes he sendeth forth.

15 For this cause suddenly cometh his doom, In a moment shall he be torn in pieces and there be no mending.

16 These six things doth Yahweh hate, Yea seven are the abomination of his soul:—

17 Eyes that are lofty, A tongue that is false, And hands shedding innocent blood;

18 A heart contriving iniquitous devices, Feet hasting to run into mischief;

19 One that uttereth lies—a false witness, And one sending forth strifes between brethren.

20 Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, And do not decline from the instruction of thy mother:

21 Bind them upon thy heart continually, Fasten them upon thy neck;

22 When thou walkest abroad it shall guide thee, When thou sleepest it shall watch over thee, When thou wakest it shall speak to thee:

23 For a lamp is the commandment And the instruction a light, And the way of life are the reproofs of correction:

24 To keep thee from the wicked woman, From the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger.

25 Do not covet her beauty in thy heart, Neither let her take thee by her eyelashes;

26 Because for the sake of an impure woman [a man may be brought] even to a cake of bread,—And a man’s wife For a precious soul may hunt!

27 Can a man snatch up fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be burned?

29 So he that goeth in unto his neighbour’s wife, No man shall be guiltless who toucheth her!

30 Men despise not a thief when he stealeth, To satisfy his appetite because he is famished;

31 Yet if found he must pay back sevenfold, All the substance of his house must he give:

32 He that committeth adultery with a woman lacketh sense, A destroyer of his own life is he that doeth it;

33 Smiting and shame shall he find, And his reproach shall not be wiped out;

34 For jealousy is the rage of a man, Nor will he spare in the day of avenging;

35 He will not look at any ransom, Neither will he consent though thou increase the bribe.