Proverbs6

Proverbs 6 warns against the dangers of suretyship, slothfulness, and wickedness. It encourages diligence by observing the ant and lists seven things the Lord hates, including pride and sowing discord. The chapter concludes with a strong admonition against adultery, emphasizing its destructive and irredeemable consequences compared to other transgressions.
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Warning Against Suretyship

1
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger, ​
2
if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3
then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor. ​
4
Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
5
Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. ​

The Danger of Laziness

6
Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. ​
7
Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler,
8
it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.
9
How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?
10
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
11
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit. ​

The Deceitful and Wicked Man

12
A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, ​
13
winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers. ​
14
With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.
15
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery. ​

Seven Things God Hates

16
There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: ​
17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
19
a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers. ​

Adherence to Instruction and the Adultery Trap

20
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. ​
21
Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck.
22
When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
23
For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,
24
to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. ​
25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26
For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. ​
27
Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?
28
Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
29
So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30
Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger.
31
Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
32
He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. ​
33
Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away.
34
For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance. ​
35
He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.

Study Notes for Proverbs 6

Verse 1

To be 'surety' means co-signing or guaranteeing a loan for a friend. Striking hands (v. 1) was the customary legal gesture for sealing such a binding financial agreement, placing the guarantor at high risk.

Verse 3

The counsel is practical and urgent: if trapped by a guarantee, one must act immediately to dissolve the agreement, even if it means humbling oneself before the creditor or friend to be released from the obligation.

Verse 5

Deliverance should be swift and desperate, like an animal escaping a trap. This metaphor emphasizes the severe financial danger associated with unchecked suretyship.

Verse 6

The ant is presented as a model of wisdom and diligence. It demonstrates industry, foresight, and self-organization, providing for its future without needing external compulsion or supervision.

Verse 11

Poverty is personified as a violent, unavoidable force. It comes stealthily like a traveler (or robber) and forcefully like an armed man, highlighting that laziness guarantees destitution.

Verse 12

The 'naughty person' (Hebrew *Beliyya'al*) describes a worthless and destructive individual whose entire manner of life is characterized by malicious speech and deceit.

Verse 13

This verse describes non-verbal communication used for malice. Winking, signaling with the feet, and teaching with the fingers indicate secretive, conspiratorial, and deceitful behavior.

Verse 15

Because the wicked man’s actions are continuous and deliberate, his judgment will be sudden and without remedy, emphasizing the finality of God's response to persistent malice.

Verse 16

This numerical proverb (six, yea, seven) is a literary device used to structure a list, indicating completeness and emphasizing the seriousness of these particular sins that destroy community and violate divine order.

Verse 19

Sowing discord among brethren is often placed last in such lists, suggesting it is the summation of anti-social behavior, as it actively undermines the harmony and community God desires.

Verse 20

The instruction transitions back to the primary theme of Proverbs: obedience to parental teaching, which is equated with adherence to divine wisdom and moral law.

Verse 24

The primary practical benefit of following wisdom is protection from the 'strange woman' (the adulteress), whose flattery and seduction lead to moral and physical ruin.

Verse 26

This verse contrasts the financial ruin caused by a prostitute ('a piece of bread') with the greater danger of the adulteress, who hunts for the husband's 'precious life,' meaning his honor, reputation, and very existence.

Verse 32

Adultery demonstrates a profound lack of moral sense and understanding (*lev*). The adulterer destroys his own soul (life/self) by inviting physical harm, public shame, and divine judgment.

Verse 34

The consequences of adultery are uniquely severe because they invoke the husband's uncontrollable rage (jealousy). This passion is not appeasable by financial compensation, demanding justice rather than a settlement.

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