Proverbs 6:1-8 in English

¹ My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger;

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor: Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor;

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids;

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if thou become surety for thy friend, thou shalt deliver thine hand to an enemy.

² For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.

³ My son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; for on thy friend's account thou art come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber with thine eyelids;

⁵ that thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he.

⁷ For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master,

⁸ he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest.

^8a Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work;

^8b whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all:

^8c though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.

¹ My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you become surety for your friend, you shall deliver your hand to an enemy.

² For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.

³ My son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you are come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you are become surety.

⁴ Give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber with your eyelids;

⁵ that you may deliver yourself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he.

⁷ For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master,

⁸ he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labors kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.

¹ My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbour.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if someone has borrowed money from a friend or a stranger, and if you have promised that you will pay the money back if that person is unable to pay back the money he borrowed,

² you may be trapped by what you have agreed to do, because if the one who borrowed the money is not able to pay it back, you will have to pay it. What you have said that you will do will be like a snare to you.

³ So, my son, I will tell you what you should do to escape from your difficulty, so that the moneylender does not get control over your wealth: Humbly go to your friend and plead with him to cancel the agreement!

⁴ Do not wait until tomorrow; go immediately! Do not rest until you go and talk with him.

⁵ Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter or like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.

⁶ You lazy individual, learn something from watching the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.

⁷ They do not have a king or a governor or any other person who rules them and forces them to work,

⁸ but they work hard all during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.

¹ My son, if you become surety for your friend, you shall deliver your hand to an enemy.

² For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.

³ My son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you are come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you are become surety.

⁴ Give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber with your eyelids;

⁵ that you may deliver yourself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he.

⁷ For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master,

⁸ he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbour, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbour. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbour.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have made yourself responsible for your neighbour, or given your word for another,

² You are taken as in a net by the words of your mouth, the sayings of your lips have overcome you.

³ Do this, my son, and make yourself free, because you have come into the power of your neighbour; go without waiting, and make a strong request to your neighbour.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, or rest to them;

⁵ Make yourself free, like the roe from the hand of the archer, and the bird from him who puts a net for her.

⁶ Go to the ant, you hater of work; give thought to her ways and be wise:

⁷ Having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ She gets her meat in the summer, storing up food at the time of the grain-cutting.

¹ My son, if thou hast become surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand for a stranger,

² thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, since thou hast come into the hand of thy friend: go, humble thyself, and be urgent with thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids:

⁵ deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise:

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provideth her bread in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast thy hand to a stranger.

² Thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth, and caught with thy own words.

³ Do therefore, my son, what I say, and deliver thyself: because thou art fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run about, make haste, stir up thy friend:

⁴ Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom:

⁷ Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain,

⁸ Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, suppose you have pledged to guarantee your neighbor's debt, or you have shaken hands in agreement with a stranger,

² then you've trapped yourself by what you promised, you've been caught by what you said.

³ So this is what you have to do. You need to get out of it, because you've put yourself in that person's power. Go to your neighbor in all humility and ask him to release you from the commitment.

⁴ Don't delay, saying that you'll sleep on it. Don't rest until you've done it.

⁵ Get out of it like a gazelle escaping from a trap, like a bird from a bird-catcher's net.

⁶ Go and observe the ants, you slacker! Learn from what they do and become wise.

⁷ They don't have a leader, an officer, or a ruler,

⁸ yet they work hard during the summer getting their food, gathering what they need during the harvest.

¹ My sonne, if thou be surety for thy neighbour, and hast striken hands with the stranger,

² Thou art snared with the wordes of thy mouth: thou art euen taken with the woordes of thine owne mouth.

³ Doe this nowe, my sonne, and deliuer thy selfe: seeing thou art come into the hande of thy neighbour, goe, and humble thy selfe, and sollicite thy friends.

⁴ Giue no sleepe to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliuer thy selfe as a doe from the hande of the hunter, and as a birde from the hande of the fouler.

⁶ Goe to the pismire, O sluggarde: beholde her waies, and be wise.

⁷ For shee hauing no guide, gouernour, nor ruler,

⁸ Prepareth her meat in the sommer, and gathereth her foode in haruest.

¹ My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast struck thy hands for a stranger —

² Thou art snared by the words of thy mouth, thou art caught by the words of thy mouth —

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and urge thy neighbour.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her bread in the summer, and gatherest her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, When thou art come into the hand of thy friend; Go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, If thou hast become surety for thy friend, if thou hast struck thy hand for a stranger;

² If thou art ensnared through the words of thy mouth, if thou art caught through the words of thy mouth:

³ Then do this by all means, my son, and deliver thyself, because thou art come into the power of thy friend, Go hasten to him, and urge thy friend.

⁴ Grant not any sleep to thy eyes, nor slumber to thy eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roebuck from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; look on her ways, and become wise.

⁷ She, that hath no prince, officer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth in the summer her provision, gathereth in harvest-time her food.

¹ My son, if thou become surety for thy friend, Thou shalt deliver thy hand to an enemy.

² For a man’s own lips become a strong snare to him, And he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.

³ My son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; For on thy friend’s account thou art come into the power of evil men: Faint not, But stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber with thine eyelids;

⁵ That thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, And as a bird out of a snare.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; And see, and emulate his ways, And become wiser than he.

⁷ For whereas he has no husbandry, Nor anyone to compel him, And is under no master,

⁸ He prepares food for himself in the summer, And lays by abundant store in harvest.

^8a Or go to the bee, And learn how diligent she is, And how earnestly she is engaged in her work;

^8b Whose labors kings and private men use for health, And she is desired and respected by all:

^8c Though weak in body, She is advanced by honoring wisdom.

¹ My son, if thou hast become surety for another, If thou hast stricken hands for another,

² If thou hast become ensnared by the words of thy mouth, If thou hast been caught by the words of thy mouth,

³ Do this now, my son, and rescue thyself,—Since thou hast fallen into the hands of thy neighbor,—Go, prostrate thyself, and be urgent with thy neighbor!

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids;

⁵ Rescue thyself, as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard! Consider her ways, and be wise!

⁷ She hath no governor, Nor overseer, nor ruler;

⁸ Yet she prepareth in the summer her food, She gathereth in the harvest her meat.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger;

² You are trapped by the words of your mouth. You are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you set aside your money as a guarantee for your neighbor's loan, if you gave your promise for a loan of someone you do not know,

² then you have laid a trap for yourself by your promise and you have been caught by the words of your mouth.

³ When you are caught by your words, my son, do this and save yourself, since you have fallen into the hand of your neighbor; go and humble yourself and make your case before your neighbor.

⁴ Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber.

⁵ Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Look at the ant, you lazy person, consider her ways, and be wise.

⁷ It has no commander, officer, or ruler,

⁸ yet it prepares its food in the summer and during the harvest it stores up what it will eat.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbour, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbour. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbour.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if thou art surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thy eyes, nor slumber to thy eyelids.

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter , and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

⁷ Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ Provideth her provisions in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

¹ My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbour, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

² you are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are ensnared with the words of your mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbour. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbour.

⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;

⁷ which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

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

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

³ Therefore, 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;

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

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

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

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

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

¹ My son, if thou hast promised for thy friend, thou hast fastened thine hand at a stranger. (My son, if thou hast pledged yourself, or made a guarantee, for thy friend, then thou hast fastened thy hand to a stranger.)

² Thou art bound by the words of thy mouth; and thou art taken with thine own words (or and thou art caught by thy own words, or thy promises).

³ Therefore, 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; (And so my son, do thou what I say, and save thyself; for thou hast fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run thou about, haste thou, implore thy friend;)

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

⁵ Be thou ravished, as a doe from the hand; and as a bird from the ambushings of the fowler. (Be thou released, like a doe from the hand of the hunter; and like a bird from the ambush of the fowler.)

⁶ O! thou slow man (or O thou lazy one!), go to the ant; and behold thou his ways, and learn thou wisdom.

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

⁸ maketh ready in summer meat to himself, and gathereth together in harvest that, that he shall eat. (prepareth food for himself in the summer, and gathereth together at harvest time what he shall eat.)

¹ My son! if thou hast been surety for thy friend, Hast stricken for a stranger thy hand,

² Hast been snared with sayings of thy mouth, Hast been captured with sayings of thy mouth,

³ Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For thou hast come into the hand of thy friend. Go, trample on thyself, and strengthen thy friend,

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, And slumber to thine eyelids,

⁵ Be delivered as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of a fowler.

⁶ Go unto the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;

⁷ Which hath not captain, overseer, and ruler,

⁸ She doth prepare in summer her bread, She hath gathered in harvest her food.