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Practical Warnings

¹ My son, if you have become a ^(C1)guarantor for your neighbor,
Have struck your ^(F1)hands in pledge for a stranger,

² If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

³ Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the ^(F1)hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and badger your neighbor.

⁴ Give no ^(C1)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;

⁵ Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand
And like a ^(C1)bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ^(C1)ant, O ^(C2)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,

⁷ Which, having ^(C1)no chief,
Officer or ruler,

⁸ Prepares her food ^(C1)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

⁹ How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

¹⁰ "^(C1)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^(F1)rest"—

^11 (C1)Your poverty will come in like ^(F1)a vagabond
And your want like ^(F2)an armed man.

¹² A ^(C1)vile person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a ^(C2)perverse mouth,

¹³ Who ^(C1)winks with his eyes, who ^(F1)signals with his feet,
Who ^(F2)points with his fingers;

¹⁴ Who with ^(C1)perversity in his heart continually ^(C2)devises evil,
Who ^(F1)(C3)spreads contentions.

¹⁵ Therefore ^(C1)his disaster will come suddenly;
^(C2)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(C3)no healing.

¹⁶ There are six things which Yahweh hates,
Even seven which are an abomination ^(F1)to Him:

^17 (C1)Haughty eyes, a ^(C2)lying tongue,
And hands that ^(C3)shed innocent blood,

¹⁸ A heart that devises ^(C1)wicked thoughts,
^(C2)Feet that hasten to run to evil,

¹⁹ A ^(C1)false witness who breathes out lies,
And one who ^(F1)(C2)spreads strife among brothers.

Warning Against Adultery

^20 (C1)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not abandon the ^(F1)law of your mother;

^21 (C1)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.

²² When you ^(C1)walk about, ^(F1)they will lead you;
When you sleep, ^(F1)they will keep watch over you;
And when you awake, ^(F1)they will speak to you.

²³ For ^(C1)the commandment is a lamp and the ^(F1)law is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

²⁴ To ^(C1)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

^25 (C1)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ^(C2)eyelids.

²⁶ For ^(C1)on account of ^(F1)a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And ^(F2)an adulteress ^(C2)hunts for the precious ^(F3)life.

²⁷ Can a man ^(F1)take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸ Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?

²⁹ So is the one who ^(C1)goes in to his neighbor's wife;
Whoever touches her ^(C2)will not ^(F1)go unpunished.

^30 (F1)Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(C1)fill ^(F2)himself when he is hungry;

³¹ But when he is found, he must ^(C1)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the ^(F1)substance of his house.

³² The one who commits adultery with a woman is ^(C1)lacking a heart of wisdom;
He who would ^(C2)destroy his soul does it.

³³ Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.

³⁴ For ^(C1)jealousy ^(F1)enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the ^(C2)day of vengeance.

³⁵ He will not ^(F1)accept any ransom,
He will not be willing though you give many bribes.