Financial Entanglements
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor
or entered into an agreement with a stranger, l
2 you have been snared by the words of your mouth
trapped by the words from your mouth.
3 Do 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.
4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids. m
5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,
like a bird from a hunter’s trap. ,n
Laziness
6 Go to the ant, o you slacker! p
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
8 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest. q
9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit. r
The Malicious Man
12 A worthless person, s a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly, t
13 winking u his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil v with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble. w
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery. x
What the LORD Hates
16 The LORD hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
17 arrogant eyes, y a lying tongue, z
hands that shed innocent blood, a
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, b
feet eager to run to evil, c
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony, d
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. e
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching. f
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck. g
22 When 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.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, h
and corrective discipline is the way to life. i
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman. j
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty k
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes. l
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man goes after a precious life. m
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished. n
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry. o
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; p
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself. q
33 He will get a beating and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband, r
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.
6:1–5. The next lesson, in 6:1–19, treats several topics related to financial affairs (6:1–5), work (6:6–11), and negative character traits (6:12–19), followed by another lesson on sexual morality (6:20–35). A common tone unites the chapter, as the father warns his child, either explicitly or implicitly, against loans (6:1–5), laziness (6:6–11), evildoers (6:12–15), a catalog of detestable actions (6:16–19), and the prostitute (6:20–35).
6:6–11. The next section, regarding laziness, is linked to the preceding unit in three ways. Both involve actions that negatively affect one’s financial well-being, warn against sleeping at the wrong time (6:4, 9), and employ the imperative “go” (6:3, 6). This is the first of many appearances of the lazy man in the book (10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13–16). In a book that emphasizes deliberate, decisive, and diligent behavior, laziness is a serious character flaw.
6:12–15. Verses 12–19 address negative character traits. Five characteristic actions of “a worthless person” are noted in verses 12–15, which lack any conceptual connection with the two preceding sections. The word translated “worthless person” (6:12a) is a Hebrew compound word meaning “without profit”—that is, useless. The term occurs twenty-seven times in the OT (cf. 16:27; 19:28); it is used to describe the men of Gibeah who gang-rape the Levite’s concubine (Jdg 19:22; 20:13) and the sons of Eli (1 Sm 2:12). The “wicked” are destructive abusers of power; both are perverse societal menaces. Their twisted words, devious (though obscure) gestures, and perverted minds (6:12b–13) constantly foment dissension (6:14). Just as for the lazy, sudden disaster awaits them (6:15). Their actions hardly seem to warrant such harsh divine punishment compared with the bloodthirsty band of thieves similarly threatened in 1:26–27. Wisdom ethics, however, gives greater value to the integrity and well-being of the family and the community than to an individual’s personal preferences.
6:16–19. In justifying this threat, a list of seven detestable vices follows (cf. 26:25). The “numerical” form of 6:16 (i.e., “six things . . . , seven”; cf. Jb 5:19) is found in various types of OT literature, most notably in Pr 30:18–31. This form places climactic emphasis on the final element, which is here quite similar to 6:14b. Far from advocating a mechanical link between deed and consequence, Proverbs affirms that the Lord ultimately upholds justice in his world. The word “detestable” (Hb toebah; see the commentary on 3:27–35) occurs frequently in Proverbs. Each of the first five actions in this vice list involves a body part, in a sequence moving downward from head to foot, indicating the totality of one’s involvement in mischief (6:17–18). The final two vices (6:19) diverge stylistically, perhaps involving actions that depend on the preceding five. Since the order here is climactic, attacking the integrity of the family or clan unit (through instigating disputes, 6:19b) is viewed as more heinous than perverting the legal system (through false witness, 6:19a; cf. 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9; 21:28; 25:18).
6:20–23. This next lesson (6:20–35) resumes the typical instructional form, with an extended call to heed the parental counsel (6:20–23) preceding the specific warnings (6:24–35). It also takes up the topic of chapter 5, developing the grave consequences of sexual immorality more fully. Presumably one ties the commands of both parents “around your neck” (6:21; cf. 3:3) in order to keep them plainly in view when deciding which direction to head. Proverbs 6:22 cites three daily situations in which such instruction proves useful, offering guidance, protection, and a conversation partner—metaphorically speaking, both a proper path to follow and a light to illumine it (6:23; cf. Ps 119:105).
6:24–25. In particular, this counsel is intended to keep the youth from the immoral woman (6:24), who can ruin his life. This smooth-tongued temptress, already familiar from chapters 2 and 5, is called “an evil woman.” This expression occurs only here in the OT; the Septuagint may have read a similarly written word, translating “married woman” (see the CSB footnote). The admonition in 6:25 consists of a twofold warning. The negative command (“Don’t lust,” 6:25a) recalls the tenth commandment (Ex 20:17; Dt 5:21), which employs the same Hebrew verb (“Do not covet”), and 6:25b vividly captures the process.
6:26–35. The remainder of the instruction details the dangers that one will thereby avoid. While every prostitute has her price, the adulteress will, metaphorically speaking, stalk you like prey (6:26; cf. Jb 10:16; Mc 7:2). This is the first reference to prostitution in Proverbs (cf. 7:10; 23:27; 29:3); however, the emphasis here is clearly on adultery (cf. 6:29, 32, 34).