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Parental Counsel

¹ My son, if you have become a ^(C1)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 ^(F1)hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.

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

⁵ Save 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, you ^(F1)(C2)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,

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

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

⁹ How long will you lie down, you ^(F1)lazy one?
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)Then your poverty will come in like a ^(F1)drifter,
And your need like ^(F2)an armed man.

¹² A ^(C1)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is 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)perversion in his heart, continually ^(C2)devises evil,
Who ^(F1)(C3)spreads strife.

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 that the LORD hates,
Seven that 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 plans,
^(C2)Feet that run rapidly to evil,

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

^20 (C1)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the ^(F1)teaching of your mother;

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

²² When you ^(C1)walk, ^(F1)they will guide you;
When you sleep, ^(F1)they will watch over you;
And when you awake, ^(F1)they will talk to you.

²³ For ^(C1)the commandment is a lamp and the ^(F1)teaching is light;
And rebukes 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)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And ^(F1)an adulteress ^(C2)hunts for a precious life.

²⁷ Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸ Or can a person 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 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(C1)satisfy ^(F1)himself when he is hungry;

³¹ But when he is found, he must ^(C1)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.

³² One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(C1)lacking ^(F1)sense;
He who would ^(C2)destroy ^(F2)himself commits it.

³³ He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.

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

³⁵ He will not ^(F1)accept any settlement,
Nor will he be ^(F2)satisfied though you make it a large gift.