Proverbs 6

HCSB

Proverbs 6

Financial Entanglements

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My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor^(a)
or entered into an agreement with^(b) a stranger,^(c)^(A)

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you have been trapped by the words of your lips^(d)—
ensnared by the words of your mouth.

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Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

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Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.^(B)

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Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,^(e)
like a bird from a fowler’s trap.^(f)^(C)

Laziness

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Go to the ant,^(D) you slacker!^(E)
Observe its ways and become wise.

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Without leader, administrator, or ruler,

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it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.^(F)

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How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?

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A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,^(G)

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and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.^(H)

The Malicious Man

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A worthless person,^(I) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,^(J)

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winking^(K) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.

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He always plots evil^(L) with perversity in his heart—
he stirs up trouble.^(M)

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Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery.^(N)

What the Lord Hates

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The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to Him:

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arrogant eyes,^(O) a lying tongue,^(P)
hands that shed innocent blood,^(Q)

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a heart that plots wicked schemes,^(R)
feet eager to run to evil,^(S)

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a lying witness who gives false testimony,^(T)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.^(U)

Warning against Adultery

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My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.^(V)

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Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.^(W)

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When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.

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For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,^(X)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.^(Y)

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They will protect you from an evil woman,^(g)
from the flattering^(h) tongue of a stranger.^(Z)

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Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty^(AA)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.^(AB)

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For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,⁽ⁱ⁾
but an adulteress^(j) goes after a precious life.^(AC)

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Can a man embrace fire^(k)
and his clothes not be burned?

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Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?

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So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.^(AD)

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People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.^(AE)

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Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;^(AF)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.

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The one who commits adultery^(l) lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.^(AG)

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He will get a beating^(m) and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.

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For jealousy enrages a husband,^(AH)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

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He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish gifts.

Footnotes:

a. Proverbs 6:1: Or friend

b. Proverbs 6:1: Lit or shaken hands for or with

c. Proverbs 6:1: The Hb word for stranger can refer to a foreigner, an Israelite outside one’s family, or simply to another person.

d. Proverbs 6:2: Lit mouth

e. Proverbs 6:5: Lit hand

f. Proverbs 6:5: Lit hand

g. Proverbs 6:24: LXX reads from a married woman

h. Proverbs 6:24: Lit smooth

i. Proverbs 6:26: Or On account of a prostitute, [one is left with] only a loaf of bread

j. Proverbs 6:26: Lit but a wife of a man

k. Proverbs 6:27: Lit man take fire to his bosom

l. Proverbs 6:32: Lit commits adultery with a woman

m. Proverbs 6:33: Or plague

Cross references:

A. Proverbs 6:1: Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 20:16; Proverbs 22:26; Proverbs 27:13

B. Proverbs 6:4: Psalm 132:4

C. Proverbs 6:5: Psalm 91:3; Psalm 124:7

D. Proverbs 6:6: Proverbs 30:24-25

E. Proverbs 6:6: Proverbs 10:26; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 26:16

F. Proverbs 6:8: Proverbs 10:5; Proverbs 30:25

G. Proverbs 6:10: Proverbs 26:14; Ecclesiastes 4:5

H. Proverbs 6:10: Proverbs 20:13; Proverbs 24:33-34; Ecclesiastes 4:5

I. Proverbs 6:12: Proverbs 16:27; Proverbs 19:28

J. Proverbs 6:12: Proverbs 4:24

K. Proverbs 6:13: Psalm 35:19; Proverbs 10:10; Proverbs 16:30

L. Proverbs 6:14: Proverbs 3:29

M. Proverbs 6:14: Proverbs 6:19; Proverbs 16:27-28; Proverbs 28:25

N. Proverbs 6:15: 2 Chronicles 36:16; Proverbs 24:22; Proverbs 29:1; Isaiah 30:13-14; Jeremiah 19:11

O. Proverbs 6:17: Psalm 18:27; Proverbs 21:4; Proverbs 30:13

P. Proverbs 6:17: Psalm 31:18; Psalm 120:2; Proverbs 12:22; Proverbs 17:7

Q. Proverbs 6:17: Deuteronomy 19:10; Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:7

R. Proverbs 6:18: Genesis 6:5

S. Proverbs 6:18: Proverbs 1:16

T. Proverbs 6:19: Exodus 20:16; Psalm 27:12; Proverbs 12:17; Proverbs 14:5; Proverbs 14:25

U. Proverbs 6:19: Proverbs 6:14; Proverbs 16:27-28; Proverbs 28:25

V. Proverbs 6:20: Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 31:1

W. Proverbs 6:21: Proverbs 1:9; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3

X. Proverbs 6:23: Psalm 119:105

Y. Proverbs 6:23: Proverbs 3:1-2; Proverbs 4:4; Proverbs 7:2; Proverbs 19:16

Z. Proverbs 6:24: Proverbs 7:5

AA. Proverbs 6:25: Matthew 5:28

AB. Proverbs 6:25: Song of Solomon 4:9

AC. Proverbs 6:26: Proverbs 2:18-19; Proverbs 7:21-23; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 23:27-28; Ezekiel 13:18

AD. Proverbs 6:29: Proverbs 16:5

AE. Proverbs 6:30: Jeremiah 49:9; Obadiah 1:5

AF. Proverbs 6:31: Exodus 22:1-4; Psalm 79:12

AG. Proverbs 6:32: Proverbs 7:22-23

AH. Proverbs 6:34: Proverbs 27:4