The Folly of Guaranteeing Loans

1My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor,

if you have agreed to a deala with a stranger,

2trapped by your own words,

and caught by your own words,

3then do this, my son, and deliver yourself,

because you have come under your neighbor’s control.b

Go, humble yourself!

Plead passionately with your neighbor!

4Don’t allow yourself to sleep

or even to close your eyes.

5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hunter’s hand,c

or like a bird from a fowler’s hand.

The Folly of Laziness

6Go to the ant, you lazy man!

Observe its ways and become wise.

7It has no commander,

officer, or ruler,

8but prepares its provisions in the summer

and gathers its food in the harvest.

9How long will you lie down, lazy man?

When will you get up from your sleep?

10A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

11and your poverty will come on you like a bandit

and your desperation like an armed man.

The Folly of Causing Strife

12A worthless man, a wicked man,

goes around with devious speech,

13winking with his eyes, making signsd withe his feet,

pointing with his fingers,

14planning evil with a perverse mind,f

continually stirring up discord.

15Therefore, disaster will overtake him suddenly.

He will be broken in an instant,

and he will never recover.

What God Hates

16Here are six things that the LORD hates—

seven, in fact,g are detestable to him:h

17Arrogant eyes,

a lying tongue,

and hands shedding innocent blood;

18a heart crafting evil plans,

feet running swiftly to wickedness,

19a false witness snorting lies,

and someone sowing quarrels between brothers.

Parental Counsel about Immorality

20Keep your father’s commands, my son,

and never forsake your mother’s rules,i

21by binding them to your heart continuously,

fastening them around your neck.

22During your travels wisdomj will lead you;

she will watch over you while you rest;

and when you are startled from your sleep,

she will commune with you.

23Because the command is a lamp

and the Law a light,

rebukes that discipline are a way of life—

24to protect you from the evilk woman,

from the words of the seductive woman.

25Do not focus on her beauty in your mind,

nor allow her to take you prisoner with her flirting eyes,

26because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread,

and an adulterous woman stalks a man’s precious life.

27Can a man scoop fire into his bosom

without burning his clothes?

28Can a man walk on hot coals

without scorching his feet?

29So also is it with someone who has sex with his neighbor’s wife;

anyone touching her will not remain unpunished.

30A thief isn’t despised

if he steals to meet his needsl when he is hungry,

31but when he is discovered,

he must restore seven-fold,

forfeiting the entire value of his house.

32Whoever commits adultery with a woman is out of his mind;

by doing so he corrupts his own soul.

33He will receive a beating and dishonor,

and his shame won’t disappear,

34because jealousy incitesm a strong man’s rage,

and he will show no mercy when it’s time for revenge.

35He will not consider any payment,

nor will he be willing to accept it,n

no matter how large the bribe.