Proverbs 6 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Parental Counsel

6 My son, if you have become a (A)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
2 If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
3 Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the [a]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
4 Give no (B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a (C)bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the (D)ant, you [b](E)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
7 Which, having (F)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
8 Prepares its food (G)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, you [c]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “(H)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [d]rest,”
11 (I)Then your poverty will come in like a [e]drifter,
And your need like [f]an armed man.

12 A (J)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a (K)perverse mouth,
13 Who (L)winks with his eyes, who [g]signals with his feet,
Who [h]points with his fingers;
14 Who, with (M)perversion in his heart, continually (N)devises evil,
Who [i](O)spreads strife.
15 Therefore (P)his disaster will come suddenly;
(Q)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (R)no healing.

16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination [j]to Him:
17 (S)Haughty eyes, a (T)lying tongue,
And hands that (U)shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises (V)wicked plans,
(W)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A (X)false witness who declares lies,
And one who [k](Y)spreads strife among brothers.

20 (Z)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the [l]teaching of your mother;
21 (AA)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you (AB)walk, [m]they will guide you;
When you sleep, [n]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [o]they will talk to you.
23 For (AC)the commandment is a lamp and the [p]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
24 To (AD)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (AE)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (AF)eyelids.
26 For (AG)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And [q]an adulteress (AH)hunts for a precious life.
27 Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who (AI)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (AJ)will not [r]go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To (AK)satisfy [s]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (AL)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
32 One who commits adultery with a woman is (AM)lacking [t]sense;
He who would (AN)destroy [u]himself commits it.
33 He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
34 For (AO)jealousy [v]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the (AP)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [w]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be [x]satisfied though you make it a large gift.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:3 Lit palm
  2. Proverbs 6:6 Lit idle one
  3. Proverbs 6:9 Lit idle one
  4. Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
  5. Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who moves about
  6. Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield
  7. Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
  8. Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs with
  9. Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out
  10. Proverbs 6:16 Lit of His soul
  11. Proverbs 6:19 Lit sends out
  12. Proverbs 6:20 Or law
  13. Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
  14. Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
  15. Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
  16. Proverbs 6:23 Or law
  17. Proverbs 6:26 Lit a man’s wife
  18. Proverbs 6:29 Lit be innocent
  19. Proverbs 6:30 Lit his soul
  20. Proverbs 6:32 Lit heart
  21. Proverbs 6:32 Lit his soul
  22. Proverbs 6:34 Lit is the rage of
  23. Proverbs 6:35 Lit lift up the face of any
  24. Proverbs 6:35 Lit willing

Cross references

  1. Proverbs 6:1 : Prov 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13
  2. Proverbs 6:4 : Ps 132:4
  3. Proverbs 6:5 : Ps 91:3; 124:7
  4. Proverbs 6:6 : Prov 30:24, 25
  5. Proverbs 6:6 : Prov 6:9; 10:26; 13:4; 20:4; 26:16
  6. Proverbs 6:7 : Prov 30:27
  7. Proverbs 6:8 : Prov 10:5
  8. Proverbs 6:10 : Prov 24:33
  9. Proverbs 6:11 : Prov 24:34
  10. Proverbs 6:12 : Prov 16:27
  11. Proverbs 6:12 : Prov 4:24; 10:32
  12. Proverbs 6:13 : Job 15:12; Ps 35:19; Prov 10:10
  13. Proverbs 6:14 : Prov 17:20
  14. Proverbs 6:14 : Prov 3:29; Mic 2:1
  15. Proverbs 6:14 : Prov 6:19; 16:28
  16. Proverbs 6:15 : Prov 24:22
  17. Proverbs 6:15 : Is 30:13, 14; Jer 19:11
  18. Proverbs 6:15 : 2 Chr 36:16
  19. Proverbs 6:17 : Ps 18:27; 101:5; Prov 21:4; 30:13
  20. Proverbs 6:17 : Ps 31:18; 120:2; Prov 12:22; 17:7
  21. Proverbs 6:17 : Deut 19:10; Prov 28:17; Is 1:15; 59:7
  22. Proverbs 6:18 : Gen 6:5; Prov 24:2
  23. Proverbs 6:18 : Prov 1:16; Is 59:7; Rom 3:15
  24. Proverbs 6:19 : Ps 27:12; Prov 12:17; 19:5, 9; 21:28
  25. Proverbs 6:19 : Prov 6:14
  26. Proverbs 6:20 : Eph 6:1
  27. Proverbs 6:21 : Prov 3:3
  28. Proverbs 6:22 : Prov 3:23
  29. Proverbs 6:23 : Ps 19:8; 119:105
  30. Proverbs 6:24 : Prov 5:3; 7:5, 21
  31. Proverbs 6:25 : Matt 5:28
  32. Proverbs 6:25 : 2 Kin 9:30; Jer 4:30; Ezek 23:40
  33. Proverbs 6:26 : Prov 5:9, 10; 29:3
  34. Proverbs 6:26 : Prov 7:23; Ezek 13:18
  35. Proverbs 6:29 : Ezek 18:6; 33:26
  36. Proverbs 6:29 : Prov 16:5
  37. Proverbs 6:30 : Job 38:39
  38. Proverbs 6:31 : Ex 22:1-4
  39. Proverbs 6:32 : Prov 7:7; 9:4, 16; 10:13, 21; 11:12; 12:11
  40. Proverbs 6:32 : Prov 7:22, 23
  41. Proverbs 6:34 : Prov 27:4; Song 8:6
  42. Proverbs 6:34 : Prov 11:4

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