Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts⁴⁸

6:1 My child, if you have pledged¹ for your neighbor,
and² have struck your hands for a stranger,³
6:2 and⁴ you have been ensnared⁵ by the words of your mouth,
caught by the words of your mouth,
6:3 do this, then, my child, in order to deliver yourself,⁶
because you have fallen⁷ into your neighbor’s hand,⁸
go, humble yourself,⁹
and firmly appeal¹⁰ to your neighbor.
6:4 Do not give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,¹¹
and like a bird from the trap¹² of the fowler.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;¹³
observe its ways and be wise!
6:7 It has no commander,
overseer or¹⁴ ruler,
6:8 but¹⁵ it prepares its food in the summer,
it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.¹⁶
6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?¹⁷
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to recline,¹⁸
6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber,¹⁹
and your need like an armed man.²⁰
6:12 A worthless and wicked person²¹
goes along with a perverse mouth;²²
6:13 he winks with his eyes,
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers;²³
6:14 with perverse thought²⁴ in his heart he plots evil,
he spreads contention²⁵ at all times.
6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant²⁶ he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
6:16 These are six things that the LORD hates,
even²⁷ seven²⁸ things that are an abomination to Him:²⁹
6:17 haughty eyes,³⁰ a lying tongue,³¹
and hands that shed innocent blood,³²
6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans,³³
feet that are swift to run³⁴ to evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies,³⁵
and one who spreads discord³⁶ among brethren.³⁷
6:20 My child, safeguard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
6:21 Bind them³⁸ upon your heart continually,
fasten them around your neck.
6:22 When you go about,³⁹ they⁴⁰ will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up,⁴¹ they will talk⁴² to you.
6:23 For commandments⁴³ are a lamp,⁴⁴ and instruction a light,
and rebukes of discipline the way of life,⁴⁵
6:24 keeping⁴⁶ you from the evil woman,⁴⁷
from the smooth tongue of⁴⁸ the foreign woman.
6:25 Do not lust⁴⁹ in your heart for her beauty,
and let her not capture you with her eyelids,⁵⁰
6:26 for on account⁵¹ of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another⁵² man preys upon your precious life.
6:27 Can a man snatch up⁵³ fire⁵⁴ into his bosom
without⁵⁵ his clothes being burned?
6:28 Can⁵⁶ a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
6:29 Thus it is with⁵⁷ the one who goes in⁵⁸ to his neighbor’s wife;
no one⁵⁹ who touches⁶⁰ her will be exempt from punishment.⁶¹
6:30 People⁶² do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need⁶³ when he is hungry.
6:31 Yet⁶⁴ if he is found out⁶⁵ he must repay⁶⁶ sevenfold,
he might even give⁶⁷ all the wealth of his house.
6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding,⁶⁸
whoever does it destroys his own life.⁶⁹
6:33 A wound and contempt will he find,
and his reproach will not be wiped away;⁷⁰
6:34 for jealousy kindles⁷¹ a man’s rage,
and he will not show mercy⁷² when he takes revenge.
6:35 He will not consider⁷³ any compensation;⁷⁴
he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.⁷⁵