| 1 | My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, | |
| 2 | You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. | |
| 3 | So 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. | |
| 4 | Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids. | |
| 5 | Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. | |
| 6 | Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, | |
| 7 | Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, | |
| 8 | Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. | |
| 9 | How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? | |
| 10 | A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep-- | |
| 11 | So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. | |
| 12 | A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; | |
| 13 | He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; | |
| 14 | Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. | |
| 15 | Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. | |
| 16 | These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: | |
| 17 | A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, | |
| 18 | A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, | |
| 19 | A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. | |
| 20 | My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. | |
| 21 | Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. | |
| 22 | When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. | |
| 23 | For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, | |
| 24 | To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. | |
| 25 | Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. | |
| 26 | For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. | |
| 27 | Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? | |
| 28 | Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared? | |
| 29 | So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. | |
| 30 | People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. | |
| 31 | Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. | |
| 32 | Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. | |
| 33 | Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away. | |
| 34 | For jealousy is a husband's fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. | |
| 35 | He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts. | |