1My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbour,—have struck for a stranger thy hands,
2Thou hast been snared by the sayings of thy mouth,—thou hast been caught by the sayings of thy mouth.
3Do this then, my son, and deliver thyself, When thou hast come into the hand of thy neighbour, Go, haste thee, and urge thy neighbour;
4Do not give sleep to thine eyes, or slumber to thine eyelashes;
5Deliver thyself, as a gazelle out of the hand, and as a bird, out of the hand of the fowler.
6Go to the ant, thou sluggard, observe her ways, and be wise;
7Which, having no harvest, scribe, or ruler,
8Prepareth, in the summer, her food, hath collected, in the harvest, her sustenance.
9How long, O sluggard, wilt thou lie? how long ere thou rise from thy sleep?
10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest:—
11So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
12An abandoned man, a man of iniquity, [is he] who—goeth on in perversity of mouth;
13Winketh with his eyes, speaketh with his foot, pointeth with his fingers;
14[Hath] perverse things in his heart, deviseth mischief on every occasion, strifes, he sendeth forth.
15For this cause, suddenly cometh his doom, in a moment, shall he be torn in pieces and there be no mending.
16These six things, doth Yahweh hate, yea, seven, are the abomination of his soul:—
17Eyes that are lofty, a tongue that is false, and hands shedding innocent blood;
18A heart contriving iniquitous devices, feet hasting to run into mischief;
19One that uttereth lies—a false witness, and one sending forth strifes between brethren.
20Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, and do not decline from the instruction of thy mother:
21Bind them upon thy heart continually, fasten them upon thy neck;
22When thou walkest abroad, it shall guide thee, when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee, when thou wakest, it shall speak to thee:
23For, a lamp, is the commandment, and, the instruction, a light, and, the way of life, are the reproofs of correction:
24To keep thee from the wicked woman, from the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger.
25Do not covet her beauty, in thy heart, neither let her take thee, by her eyelashes;
26Because, for the sake of an impure woman, [a man may be brought] even to a cake of bread,—and, a man’s wife, for a precious soul, may hunt!
27Can a man snatch up fire in his bosom, and, his clothes, not be burned?
28Or can a man walk upon hot coals, and, his feet, not be burned?
29So, he that goeth in unto his neighbour’s wife, no man shall be guiltless who toucheth her!
30Men despise not a thief, when he stealeth, to satisfy his appetite, because he is famished;
31Yet, if found, he must pay back sevenfold, All the substance of his house, must he give:
32He that committeth adultery with a woman, lacketh sense, A destroyer of his own life, is he that doeth it;
33Smiting and shame, shall he find, and, his reproach, shall not be wiped out;
34For, jealousy, is the rage of a man, nor will he spare, in the day of avenging;
35He will not look, at any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou increase the bribe.