Pro 6 | ESV | STEP | My son , if you have put up security for your neighbor , have given your pledge for a stranger ,

1 My son, if you have put up ^asecurity for your neighbor,
have ^bgiven your pledge for a stranger,
2 if you are ^csnared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten, ^{▼▼Or humble yourself} and ^eplead urgently with your neighbor.
4 ^fGive your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks of the hunter}
^hlike a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 ⁱGo to ^jthe ant, O ^ksluggard;
consider her ways, and ^lbe wise.
7 ^mWithout having any chief,
ⁿofficer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread ^oin summer
and ^pgathers her food in harvest.
9 ^qHow long will you lie there, ^rO sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 ^sA little sleep, a little slumber,
^ta little ^ufolding of the hands to rest,
11 ^vand poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
12 ^wA worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with ^xcrooked speech,
13 ^ywinks with his eyes, signals ^{▼▼Hebrew scrapes} with his feet,
points with his finger,
14 with ^aaperverted heart ^abdevises evil,
continually ^acsowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
^adin a moment he will be broken ^aebeyond healing.
16 There are ^afsix things that the Lord hates,
^agseven that are an abomination to him:
17 ^ahhaughty eyes, ^aia lying tongue,
and ^ajhands that shed innocent blood,
18 ^aka heart that devises wicked plans,
^alfeet that make haste to run to evil,
19 ^ama false witness who ^anbreathes out lies,
and one who ^aosows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

20 ^apMy son, keep your father’s commandment,
^aqand forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21 ^arBind them on your heart always;
^astie them around your neck.
22 ^atWhen you walk, they ^{▼▼Hebrew it; three times in this verse} will lead you;
^avwhen you lie down, they will ^awwatch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is ^axa lamp and the teaching a light,
and the ^ayreproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman, ^{▼▼Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor}
from the smooth tongue of ^bathe adulteress. ^{▼▼Hebrew the foreign woman}
25 ^bcDo not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her ^bdeyelashes;
26 for ^bethe price of a prostitute is only ^bfa loaf of bread, ^{▼▼Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread}
but a married woman ^{▼▼Hebrew a man’s wife} ^bihunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry ^bjfire next to his ^bkchest
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one ^blwalk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her ^bmwill go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to ^bnsatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but ^boif he is caught, he will pay ^bpsevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For ^bqjealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when ^brhe takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.