1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, or made a promise to a stranger,
2you are trapped by your own words. You are caught by what you said.
3My son, do this now to free yourself, since you are in your neighbor’s power. Go, humble yourself. Plead with your neighbor.
4Don’t let your eyes sleep or your eyelids close.
5Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, like a bird from a fowler's trap.
6Go to the ant, you lazy person. Watch what it does and be wise.
7The ant has no chief, supervisor, or ruler,
8yet it gathers its food in summer and stores its provisions during harvest.
9How long will you sleep, lazy person? When will you get up?
10A little sleep, a little dozing, a little folding of the hands to rest—
11then poverty will attack you like a robber, and scarcity like an armed man.
12A wicked, evil person is someone who speaks deceptively;
13who winks his eyes, shuffles his feet, and points with his fingers;
14whose heart is deceitful, who constantly plans evil, who always stirs up conflict.
15So disaster will strike him suddenly; he will be crushed without warning, beyond recovery.
16There are six things Yahweh hates—no, seven things that are detestable to him:
17proud eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people;
18a heart that thinks up evil plans, feet that are quick to run to wickedness,
19a false witness who tells lies, and someone who causes arguments among family.
20My child, obey your father’s commands and don’t forget your mother’s teachings.
21Always keep them in your heart and wear them around your neck.
22When you walk, they will guide you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will talk with you.
23For a command is a lamp, and teaching is a light. Correcting instructions are the way to life,
24to protect you from an immoral woman, from the smooth talk of a promiscuous wife.
25Don’t desire her beauty in your heart or let her captivating eyes allure you.
26Because a prostitute can reduce you to a single piece of bread, but an adulteress preys on your very life.
27Can a man carry fire in his lap without his clothes getting burned?
28Or can someone walk on hot coals without their feet getting scorched?
29The same goes for a man who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife. Anyone who touches her will not escape punishment.
30People don’t usually look down on a thief if he steals because he’s hungry.
31But if he’s caught, he must pay back seven times the amount, even if it means giving up everything he owns.
32Anyone who commits adultery with a woman is foolish. By doing so, he destroys himself.
33He will suffer wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will never be forgotten.
34For jealousy makes a husband furious, and he will show no mercy on the day he gets revenge.
35He will not accept any payment, nor will he be satisfied, even if you offer many gifts.