Read the Bible

¹ My son, if you have put up security for your friend,
if you committed yourself on behalf of another;
² you have been snared by the words of your mouth,
caught by the words of your own mouth.
³ Do this now, my son, and extricate yourself,
since you put yourself in your friend's power:
go, humble yourself, and pester your friend;
⁴ give your eyes no sleep,
give your eyelids no rest;
⁵ break free, like a gazelle from the [hunter's] trap,
like a bird from the grip of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you lazybones!
Consider its ways, and be wise.
⁷ It has no chief, overseer or ruler;
⁸ yet it provides its food in summer
and gathers its supplies at harvest-time.
⁹ Lazybones! How long will you lie there in bed?
When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰ "I'll just lie here a bit, rest a little longer,
just fold my hands for a little more sleep" —
¹¹ and poverty comes marching in on you,
scarcity hits you like an invading soldier.

¹² A scoundrel, a vicious man,
lives by crooked speech,
¹³ winking his eyes, shuffling his feet,
pointing with his fingers.
¹⁴ With deceit in his heart,
he is always plotting evil and sowing discord.
¹⁵ Therefore disaster suddenly overcomes him;
unexpectedly, he is broken beyond repair.

¹⁶ There are six things Adonai hates,
seven which he detests:
¹⁷ a haughty look, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet swift in running to do evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who lies with every breath,
and him who sows strife among brothers.

²⁰ My son, obey your father's command,
and don't abandon your mother's teaching.
²¹ Bind them always on your heart,
tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you wake up, they will talk with you.
²³ For the mitzvah is a lamp, Torah is light,
and reproofs that discipline are the way to life.

²⁴ They keep you from an evil woman,
from a loose woman's seductive tongue.
²⁵ Don't let your heart lust after her beauty
or allow her glance to captivate you.
²⁶ The price of a whore is a loaf of bread,
but the adulteress is hunting for a precious life.
²⁷ Can a man carry fire inside his shirt
without burning his clothes?
²⁸ Can a man walk [barefoot] on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
²⁹ So is he who has sex with his neighbor's wife;
anyone touching her will be punished.
³⁰ A thief is not despised if he steals
only to satisfy his appetite when hungry;
³¹ but even he, if caught, must pay back sevenfold;
he may have to give up all the wealth that he owns.
³² He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
³³ He will get nothing but blows and contempt,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴ For jealousy drives a man into a rage;
he will show no mercy when he takes revenge;
³⁵ he will not accept compensation;
he'll refuse every bribe, no matter how large.