GodsWord - Proverbs - 6

6:1  My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor or pledge yourself for a stranger with a handshake,

6:2  you are trapped by the words of your own mouth, caught by your own promise.

6:3  Do the following things, my son, so that you may free yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Humble yourself, and pester your neighbor.

6:4  Don't let your eyes rest or your eyelids close.

6:5  Free yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter and like a bird from the hand of a hunter.

6:6  Consider the ant, you lazy bum. Watch its ways, and become wise.

6:7  Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,

6:8  in summertime it stores its food supply. At harvest time it gathers its food.

6:9  How long will you lie there, you lazy bum? When will you get up from your sleep?

6:10  "Just a little sleep, just a little slumber, just a little nap."

6:11  Then your poverty will come to you like a drifter, and your need will come to you like a bandit.

6:12  A good-for-nothing scoundrel is a person who has a dishonest mouth.

6:13  He winks his eye, makes a signal with his foot, and points with his fingers.

6:14  He devises evil all the time with a twisted mind. He spreads conflict.

6:15  That is why disaster will come on him suddenly. In a moment he will be crushed beyond recovery.

6:16  There are six things that the LORD hates, even seven that are disgusting to him:

6:17  arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people,

6:18  a mind devising wicked plans, feet that are quick to do wrong,

6:19  a dishonest witness spitting out lies, and a person who spreads conflict among relatives.

6:20  My son, obey the command of your father, and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.

6:21  Fasten them on your heart forever. Hang them around your neck.

6:22  When you walk around, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will watch over you. When you wake up, they will talk to you

6:23  because the command is a lamp, the teachings are a light, and the warnings from discipline are the path of life

6:24  to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.

6:25  Do not desire her beauty in your heart. Do not let her catch you with her eyes.

6:26  A prostitute's price is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts for your life itself.

6:27  Can a man carry fire in his lap without burning his clothes?

6:28  Can anyone walk on red-hot coals without burning his feet?

6:29  So it is with a man who has sex with his neighbor's wife. None who touch her will escape punishment.

6:30  People do not despise a thief who is hungry when he steals to satisfy his appetite,

6:31  but when he is caught, he has to repay it seven times. He must give up all the possessions in his house.

6:32  Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense. Whoever does this destroys himself.

6:33  An adulterous man will find disease and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be blotted out,

6:34  because jealousy arouses a husband's fury. The husband will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

6:35  No amount of money will change his mind. The largest bribe will not satisfy him.