Proverbs 6:1-15

¹My son, if thou hast promised for thy friend, thou hast fastened thine hand at a stranger.

²Thou art bound by the words of thy mouth; and thou art taken with thine own words.

³Therefore, my son, do thou that that I say, and deliver thyself; for thou hast fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run thou about, haste thou, raise thy friend;

⁴give thou not sleep to thine eyes, neither thine eyelids nap.

⁵Be thou ravished, as a doe from the hand; and as a bird from the ambushings of the fowler.

⁶O! thou slow man, go to the ant; and behold thou his ways, and learn thou wisdom.

⁷Which when he hath no duke, neither commander, nor prince;

⁸maketh ready in summer meat to himself, and gathereth together in harvest that, that he shall eat.

⁹How long shalt thou, slow man, sleep? when shalt thou rise from thy sleep?

¹⁰A little thou shalt sleep, a little thou shalt nap; a little thou shalt join together thine hands that thou sleep.

¹¹And then neediness, as a way-goer, shall come to thee; and poverty, as an armed man. Forsooth if thou art not slow, thy ripe corn shall come as a well; and neediness shall flee far from thee.

¹²A man apostate, is a man unprofit-able, he goeth with a wayward mouth;

¹³he beckoneth with eyes, he trampeth with the foot, he speaketh with the finger,

¹⁴by shrewd heart he imagineth evil, and in all time he soweth dissensions.

¹⁵His perdition shall come to him anon, and he shall be broken suddenly; and he shall no more have medicine.