Warnings against Foolishness
1My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Warnings against Adultery
20My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Warnings against Foolishness
1 My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger;
2 You are trapped by the words of your mouth. You are ensnared with the words of your mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;
7 which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
8 provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man.
12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity, is he who walks with a perverse mouth;
13 who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who motions with his fingers;
14 in whose heart is perverseness, who devises evil continually, who always sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly. He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
16 There are six things which Yahweh hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood;
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
Warnings against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you. When you awake, it will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 to keep you from the immoral woman, from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue.
25 Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart, neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
26 For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife. Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
30 Men don’t despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry:
31 but if he is found, he shall restore seven times. He shall give all the wealth of his house.
32 He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding. He who does it destroys his own soul.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor. His reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband. He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He won’t regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
Warnings against Foolishness
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,
2 if you have been trapped by the words of your lips,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go, humble yourself, a
and press your plea with your neighbor.
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, b
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker;
observe its ways and become wise.
7 Without a commander,
without an overseer or ruler,
8 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, O slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and need like a bandit.
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
walks with a perverse mouth,
13 winking his eyes, speaking with his feet,
and pointing with his fingers.
14 With deceit in his heart he devises evil;
he continually sows discord.
15 Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that run swiftly to evil,
19 a false witness who gives false testimony,
and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
Warnings against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them always upon your heart;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,
24 to keep you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. c
25 Do not lust in your heart for her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes. d
26 For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, e
and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 Men do not despise the thief
if he steals to satisfy his hunger.
31 Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold;
he must give up all the wealth of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks judgment;
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Wounds and dishonor will befall him,
and his reproach will never be wiped away.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,
and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not be appeased by any ransom,
or persuaded by lavish gifts.
Footnotes:
3 a Or hasten
5 b Hebrew does not include of the hunter .
24 c Or the stranger
25 d Or eyelids or eyelashes
26 e Literally a crust of bread
Warnings against Foolishness
1My son! if thou hast been surety for thy friend, Hast stricken for a stranger thy hand,
2Hast been snared with sayings of thy mouth, Hast been captured with sayings of thy mouth,
3Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For thou hast come into the hand of thy friend. Go, trample on thyself, and strengthen thy friend,
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, And slumber to thine eyelids,
5Be delivered as a roe from the hand, And as a bird from the hand of a fowler.
6Go unto the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;
7Which hath not captain, overseer, and ruler,
8She doth prepare in summer her bread, She hath gathered in harvest her food.
9Till when, O slothful one, dost thou lie? When dost thou arise from thy sleep?
10A little sleep, a little slumber, A little clasping of the hands to rest,
11And thy poverty hath come as a traveller, And thy want as an armed man.
12A man of worthlessness, a man of iniquity, Walking with perverseness of mouth,
13Winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, Directing with his fingers,
14Frowardness is in his heart, devising evil at all times, Contentions he sendeth forth.
15Therefore suddenly cometh his calamity, Instantly he is broken -- and no healing.
16These six hath Jehovah hated, Yea, seven are abominations to His soul.
17Eyes high -- tongues false -- And hands shedding innocent blood --
18A heart devising thoughts of vanity -- Feet hasting to run to evil --
19A false witness who doth breathe out lies -- And one sending forth contentions between brethren.
Warnings against Adultery
20Keep, my son, the command of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother.
21Bind them on thy heart continually, Tie them on thy neck.
22In thy going up and down, it leadeth thee, In thy lying down, it watcheth over thee, And thou hast awaked -- it talketh with thee.
23For a lamp is the command, And the law a light, And a way of life are reproofs of instruction,
24To preserve thee from an evil woman, From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25Desire not her beauty in thy heart, And let her not take thee with her eyelids.
26For a harlot consumeth unto a cake of bread, And an adulteress the precious soul hunteth.
27Doth a man take fire into his bosom, And are his garments not burnt?
28Doth a man walk on the hot coals, And are his feet not scorched?
29So is he who hath gone in unto the wife of his neighbour, None who doth touch her is innocent.
30They do not despise the thief, When he stealeth to fill his soul when he is hungry,
31And being found he repayeth sevenfold, All the substance of his house he giveth.
32He who committeth adultery with a woman lacketh heart, He is destroying his soul who doth it.
33A stroke and shame he doth find, And his reproach is not wiped away,
34For jealousy is the fury of a man, And he doth not spare in a day of vengeance.
35He accepteth not the appearance of any atonement, Yea, he doth not consent, Though thou dost multiply bribes!
