Pro 22:26 | KD | STEP | A third distich follows: 26 Be not among those who strike hands, Among those who become surety for loans. 27 If thou hast nothing to pay, Why shall he take away thy bed from under thee? To strike hands is equivalent to, to be responsible to any one for another, to stake one’s goods and honour for him, ; ; - in a word, ערב, seq. acc ., to pledge oneself for him ( ), or for the loan received by him, משּׁאה, (from השּׁה, with ב, of the person and accus. of the thing: to lend something to one on interest). The proverb warns against being one of such sureties (write בּערבים with Cod. 1294, and old impressions such as the Venice, 1521), against acting as they do; for why wouldest thou come to this, that when thou cast not pay (שׁלּם, to render a full equivalent reckoning, and, generally, to pay, ), he (the creditor) take away thy bed from under thee? - for, as says, thus improvident suretyships are wont to be punished.

‏ Proverbs 22:26

A third distich follows: 26 Be not among those who strike hands, Among those who become surety for loans. 27 If thou hast nothing to pay, Why shall he take away thy bed from under thee?

To strike hands is equivalent to, to be responsible to any one for another, to stake one’s goods and honour for him, Pro 6:1; Pro 11:15; Pro 17:18 - in a word, ערב, seq. acc., to pledge oneself for him (Gen 43:9), or for the loan received by him, משּׁאה, Deu 24:10 (from השּׁה, with ב, of the person and accus. of the thing: to lend something to one on interest). The proverb warns against being one of such sureties (write בּערבים with Cod. 1294, and old impressions such as the Venice, 1521), against acting as they do; for why wouldest thou come to this, that when thou cast not pay (שׁלּם, to render a full equivalent reckoning, and, generally, to pay, Pro 6:31), ^{▼▼After Ben-Asher, the pointing is אם־אין־לך; while, on the contrary, Ben-Naphtali prefers אם־אין לך; vid., my Genesis (1869), pp. 74 (under Gen 1:3) and 81. So, without any bearing on the sense, Ben-Asher points למּה with Tarcha, Ben-Naphtali with Mercha.} he (the creditor) take away thy bed from under thee? - for, as Pro 20:16 says, thus improvident suretyships are wont to be punished.