Proverbs 6
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast thy hand to a stranger.
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 Thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth, and caught with thy own words.
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 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:
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 Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber.
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter [or] like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom:
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain,
They do not have a king or a governor or any [other] person who rules them [and forces them to work],
8 Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
[but] they work hard [all] during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep?
[But], you lazy loafer, how long will you [continue to] sleep [RHQ]? Are you never going to get up from sleeping [and go to work]?
10 Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep:
You sleep a for a little time; [you say, “I will take] just a short nap.” You lie down and fold/lay your hands [across your chest] and rest;
11 And want shall come upon thee, as a traveller, and poverty as a man armed. But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee.
and suddenly you will become poor. It will be as though a bandit suddenly comes and takes all that you have.
12 A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth,
[I will describe for you what] worthless and evil people [are like]. They constantly lie;
13 He winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the finger.
by winking their eyes and moving their feet and making signs with their fingers, they signal [to their friends what they are intending/planning to do].
14 With a wicked heart he deviseth evil, and at all times he soweth discord.
They plan to do evil things. They constantly cause strife/trouble.
15 To such a one his destruction shall presently come, and he shall suddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy.
But disasters will hit them suddenly; they will be crushed/ruined and nothing will be able to heal them.
16 Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth:
There are six, [maybe] seven, kinds of people that Yahweh hates. [They are]:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
People who show by their eyes that they are very proud; people who lie [MTY]; people [SYN] who kill others [SYN] who have done nothing wrong;
18 A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief,
people who plan to do evil deeds; people [SYN] who run quickly to do wrong things;
19 A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.
people who easily tell lies in court; and people who cause strife between family members.
20 My son, beep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 Bind them in thy heart continually, and put them about thy neck.
Remember the things that we have said. Those things should be [like a beautiful necklace] around your neck.
22 When thou walkest, let them go with thee: when thou sleepest, let them keep thee; and when thou awakest, talk with them.
[If you follow our advice, it will be as though] what we have taught you [PRS] will lead you, wherever you go. When you sleep, they will protect you. And when you wake up in the morning, they will teach/instruct you.
23 Because the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
These commands and what we teach you [will be like] a lamp to light your path [MET]. When we rebuke you and correct/punish you, we will be showing you the road to having [a good] life.
24 That they may keep thee from the evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the stranger.
Heeding [PRS] these commands and things that we have taught you will enable you to keep away from immoral women and from [listening to] the enticing words of an adulterous woman.
25 Let not thy heart covet her beauty, be not caught with her winks:
[Even] if such a woman is beautiful and has lovely eyes, do not desire to go with her. Do not let her persuade you to go with her (with her eyes/by the way she looks at you).
26 For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man.
[Do not forget that] you can hire a prostitute for only a loaf of bread, but [if you sleep with] another man’s wife, (it may cost you/you may lose) your life.
27 Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn?
Can you carry hot coals in your pocket and not be burned [RHQ]?
28 Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?
Can you walk on burning coals and not scorch/burn your feet?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife, shall not be clean when he shall touch her.
[No]! And in the same way, anyone who (sleeps with/has sex with) another man’s wife will [suffer for doing that]. [He will certainly] [LIT] be punished severely.
30 The fault is not so great when a man hath stolen: for he stealeth to fill his hungry soul:
We do not despise a thief if he steals some food because he is very hungry.
31 And if he be taken he shall restore sevenfold, and shall give up all the substance of his house.
But [if he steals something and then] is caught [by the police], he will have to pay back (seven times as much as/much more than) he stole. He may need to sell everything that is in his house [to get enough money to pay it back].
32 But he that is an adulterer, for the folly of his heart shall destroy his own soul:
[But] a man who commits adultery with some woman is very foolish, [because] he is destroying his own self/soul [by what he is doing].
33 He gathereth to himself shame and dishonour, and his reproach shall not be blotted out:
[That woman’s husband] will wound him badly, and [other people] will despise him. His shame will never end.
34 Because the jealousy and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge,
Because that woman’s husband will (be jealous/not want anyone else to sleep with her), he will become furious, and when he gets revenge, he will not act mercifully [toward the man who slept with his wife].
35 Nor will he yield to any man’s prayers, nor will he accept for satisfaction ever so many gifts.
And he will not accept any bribe/money, even if it is a big bribe, to (appease him/cause him to stop being angry).
