| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger— | 1My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, Have given a pledge for a stranger, |
| 2if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said— | 2If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth, |
| 3follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. | 3Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor. |
| 4Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. | 4Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids; |
| 5Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net. | 5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. |
| 6Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! | 6Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, |
| 7Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, | 7Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, |
| 8they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. | 8Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. |
| 9But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? | 9How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? |
| 10A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— | 10"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest "-- |
| 11then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. | 11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man. |
| 12What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, | 12A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, |
| 13signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. | 13Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; |
| 14Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble. | 14Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. |
| 15But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing. | 15Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. |
| 16There are six things the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests: | 16There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: |
| 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, | 17Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, |
| 18a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, | 18A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, |
| 19a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. | 19A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. |
| 20My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. | 20My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; |
| 21Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. | 21Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. |
| 22When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. | 22When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. |
| 23For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life. | 23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life |
| 24It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. | 24To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress. |
| 25Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. | 25Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids. |
| 26For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. | 26For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life. |
| 27Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? | 27Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? |
| 28Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? | 28Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? |
| 29So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. | 29So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. |
| 30Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. | 30Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry; |
| 31But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house. | 31But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house. |
| 32But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself. | 32The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. |
| 33He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased. | 33Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out. |
| 34For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. | 34For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. |
| 35He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size. | 35He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
|
