1My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast struck thy hands for a stranger —
2Thou art snared by the words of thy mouth, thou art caught by the words of thy mouth —
3Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and urge thy neighbour.
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise;
7Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
8Provideth her bread in the summer, and gatherest her food in the harvest.
9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10'Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep' —
11So shall thy poverty come as a runner, and thy want as an armed man.
12A base person, a man of iniquity, is he that walketh with a froward mouth;
13That winketh with his eyes, that scrapeth with his feet, that pointeth with his fingers;
14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth evil continually; he soweth discord.
15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; on a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.
16There are six things which the LORD hateth, yea, seven which are an abomination unto Him:
17Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;
18A heart that deviseth wicked thoughts, feet that are swift in running to evil;
19A false witness that breatheth out lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20My son, keep the commandment of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;
21Bind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about thy neck.
22When thou walkest, it shall lead thee, when thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life;
24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the smoothness of the alien tongue.
25Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; neither let her captivate thee with her eyelids.
26For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread, but the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?
Proverbs 6
Proverbs 6:1-28