Financial Entanglements
1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor Or friend
or entered into an agreement with Lit or shaken hands for or with a stranger, The Hb word for stranger can refer to a foreigner, an Israelite outside one’s family, or simply to another person. Pr 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13
2you have been trapped by the words of your lips Lit mouth —
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
4Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids. Ps 132:4
5Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, Lit hand
like a bird from a fowler’s trap. Lit hand Ps 91:3; 124:7
Laziness
Observe its ways and become wise.
7Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
8it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest. Pr 10:5; 30:25
9How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest, Pr 26:14; Ec 4:5
11and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit. Pr 20:13; 24:33-34; Ec 4:5
The Malicious Man
12A worthless person, 1Sm 25:25; Pr 16:27; 19:28 a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly, Pr 4:24
13winking Ps 35:19; Pr 10:10; 16:30 his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14He always plots evil Pr 3:29; Mc 2:1 with perversity in his heart —
he stirs up trouble. Pr 6:19; 16:27-28; 28:25
15Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly — beyond recovery. 2Ch 36:16; Pr 24:22; 29:1; Is 30:13-14; Jr 19:11
What the Lord Hates
16The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to Him:
hands that shed innocent blood, Dt 19:10; Pr 1:16; Is 1:15; 59:7
18a heart that plots wicked schemes, Gn 6:5
feet eager to run to evil, Pr 1:16
19a lying witness who gives false testimony, Ex 20:16; Ps 27:12; Pr 12:17; 14:5,25
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. Pr 6:14; 16:27-28; 28:25
Warning against Adultery
20My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching. Pr 1:8; 31:1
21Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck. Pr 1:9; 3:3; 7:3
22When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, Ps 119:105
and corrective discipline is the way to life. Pr 3:1-2; 4:4; 7:2; 19:16
24They will protect you from an evil woman, LXX reads from a married woman
from the flattering Lit smooth tongue of a stranger. Pr 7:5
25Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty Mt 5:28
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes. Sg 4:9
26For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, Or On account of a prostitute, one is left with only a loaf of bread
but an adulteress Lit but a wife of a man goes after a precious life. Pr 2:18-19; 7:21-23,27; 23:27-28; Ezk 13:18
27Can a man embrace fire Lit man take fire to his bosom
and his clothes not be burned?
28Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished. Pr 16:5
30People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry. Jr 49:9; Ob 5
31Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; Ex 22:1-4; Ps 79:12
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32The one who commits adultery Lit commits adultery with a woman lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself. Pr 7:22-23
33He will get a beating Or plague and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34For jealousy enrages a husband, Pr 27:4; Sg 8:6
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish gifts.
Holman Christian Standard Bible®
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009
by Holman Bible Publishers
