Proverbs 6:1-12
New American Standard Bible
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.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:3 Lit palm
- Proverbs 6:6 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:9 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who moves about
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield
Proverbs 6:1-12
New International Version
Warnings Against Folly
6 My son,(A) if you have put up security(B) for your neighbor,(C)
if you have shaken hands in pledge(D) for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a]
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.(E)
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle(F) from the hand of the hunter,(G)
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(H)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;(I)
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer(J)
and gathers its food at harvest.(K)
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(L)
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(M)—
11 and poverty(N) will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,
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