Proverbs 6

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,
²If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
³Then 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.
⁴Give no ^(B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a ^(C)bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ^(D)ant, you ^[b]^(E)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having ^(F)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
⁸Prepares its food ^(G)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
⁹How 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.

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

¹⁶There 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,
¹⁸A heart that devises ^(V)wicked plans,
^(W)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹A ^(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.
²²When 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.
²³For ^(AC)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[p]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
²⁴To ^(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.
²⁶For ^(AG)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And ^[q]an adulteress ^(AH)hunts for a precious life.
²⁷Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is the one who ^(AI)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ^(AJ)will not ^[r]go unpunished.
³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(AK)satisfy ^[s]himself when he is hungry;
³¹But when he is found, he must ^(AL)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
³²One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(AM)lacking ^[t]sense;
He who would ^(AN)destroy ^[u]himself commits it.
³³He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
³⁴For ^(AO)jealousy ^[v]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the ^(AP)day of vengeance.
³⁵He will not ^[w]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be ^[x]satisfied though you make it a large gift.