New King James Version | New Living Translation |
1My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, | 1My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger— |
2You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. | 2if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said— |
3So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend. | 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. |
4Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids. | 4Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. |
5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. | 5Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net. |
6Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, | 6Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! |
7Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, | 7Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, |
8Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. | 8they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. |
9How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? | 9But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? |
10A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep— | 10A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— |
11So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. | 11then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. |
12A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; | 12What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, |
13He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; | 13signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. |
14Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. | 14Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble. |
15Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. | 15But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing. |
16These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: | 16There are six things the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests: |
17A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, | 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, |
18A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, | 18a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, |
19A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. | 19a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. |
20My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. | 20My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. |
21Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. | 21Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. |
22When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. | 22When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. |
23For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, | 23For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life. |
24To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. | 24It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. |
25Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. | 25Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. |
26For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. | 26For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. |
27Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? | 27Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? |
28Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared? | 28Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. | 29So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. |
30People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. | 30Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. |
31Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. | 31But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house. |
32Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. | 32But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself. |
33Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away. | 33He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased. |
34For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. | 34For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. |
35He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts. | 35He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size. |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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. |
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