Proverbs 6

¹ My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbour.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

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

⁷ Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

⁹ How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

¹⁰ Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

¹¹ So shall thy poverty come as a robber, and thy want as an armed man.

¹² A worthless person, a man of iniquity; he walketh with a froward mouth;

¹³ He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he maketh signs with his fingers;

¹⁴ Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth evil continually; he soweth discord.

¹⁵ Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; on a sudden shall he be broken and that without remedy.

¹⁶ There be six things which the LORD hateth; yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:

¹⁷ Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;

¹⁸ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief;

¹⁹ A false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

²⁰ My son, keep the commandment of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

²¹ Bind them continually upon thine heart, tie them about thy neck.

²² When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

²³ For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

²⁴ To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the stranger’s tongue.

²⁵ Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

²⁶ For on account of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

²⁷ Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸ Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?

²⁹ So he that goeth in to his nieghbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.

³⁰ Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry:

³¹ But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

³² He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: he doeth it that would destroy his own soul.

³³ Wounds and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

³⁴ For jealousy is the rage of a man; and he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

³⁵ He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.