| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, | 1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor or entered into an agreement with a stranger, |
| 2if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, | 2you have been trapped by the words of your lips-- ensnared by the words of your mouth. |
| 3then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. | 3Do this, then, my son, and free yourself, for you have put yourself in your neighbor's power: Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor. |
| 4Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; | 4Don't give sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. |
| 5save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. | 5Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, like a bird from a fowler's trap. |
| 6Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. | 6Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. |
| 7Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, | 7Without leader, administrator, or ruler, |
| 8she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. | 8it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest. |
| 9How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? | 9How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from your sleep? |
| 10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, | 10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, |
| 11and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. | 11and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit. |
| 12A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, | 12A worthless person, a wicked man goes around speaking dishonestly, |
| 13winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, | 13winking his eyes, signaling with his feet, and gesturing with his fingers. |
| 14with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; | 14He always plots evil with perversity in his heart-- he stirs up trouble. |
| 15therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. | 15Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly; he will be shattered instantly--beyond recovery. |
| 16There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: | 16The LORD hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: |
| 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, | 17arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, |
| 18a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, | 18a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, |
| 19a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. | 19a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. |
| 20My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. | 20My son, keep your father's command, and don't reject your mother's teaching. |
| 21Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. | 21Always bind them to your heart; tie them around your neck. |
| 22When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. | 22When you walk here and there, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you. |
| 23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, | 23For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life. |
| 24to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. | 24They will protect you from an evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a stranger. |
| 25Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; | 25Don't lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyelashes. |
| 26for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. | 26For a prostitute's fee is only a loaf of bread, but an adulteress goes after a precious life. |
| 27Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? | 27Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned? |
| 28Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? | 28Can a man walk on burning coals without scorching his feet? |
| 29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. | 29So it is with the one who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. |
| 30People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, | 30People don't despise the thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry. |
| 31but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. | 31Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; he must give up all the wealth in his house. |
| 32He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. | 32The one who commits adultery lacks sense; whoever does so destroys himself. |
| 33He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. | 33He will get a beating and dishonor, and his disgrace will never be removed. |
| 34For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. | 34For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. |
| 35He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts. | 35He will not be appeased by anything or be persuaded by lavish gifts. |
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