Warning Against Pledges
6 My son, if you put up a security for your friend,
if you have shaken hands with a stranger,
2 you are snared with the words of your mouth;
you are taken with the words of your mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself;
when you have come into the hand of your friend,
go and humble yourself;
plead with your friend.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes,
nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself as a doe from the hand of the hunter,
and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
The Folly of Idleness
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise.
7 Which, having no guide,
overseer, or ruler,
8 provides her bread in the summer,
and gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you sleep, O sluggard?
When will you arise out of your sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 so will your poverty come upon you like a stalker,
and your need as an armed man.
The Wicked Man
12 A wayward person, a wicked man,
walks with a perverse mouth.
13 He winks with his eyes,
he signals with his feet,
he motions with his fingers;
14 perversity is in his heart,
he devises mischief continually, he sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;
in a moment he will be broken without remedy.
16 These six things the Lord hates,
yes, seven are an abomination to him:
17 a proud look,
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked imaginations,
feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 a false witness who speaks lies,
and he who sows discord among brethren.
Warning Against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart,
and tie them around your neck.
22 When you go, they will lead you;
when you sleep, they will keep you;
and when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light;
and reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 to keep you from the evil woman,
from the flattery of the tongue of a seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a piece of bread,
and the adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom,
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk upon hot coals,
and his feet not be burned?
29 So he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
whoever touches her will not be innocent.
30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.
31 But if he is found, he will restore sevenfold;
he will give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding;
he who does it destroys his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonor will he get,
and his reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man;
therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom,
nor will he rest content, though you give many gifts.