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Proverbs 6

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Warning Against Suretyship 1–5

1
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, ​
2
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. ​
4
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. ​

The Folly of Sloth 6–11

6
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: ​
7
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. ​

The Deceitful and Wicked Man 12–15

12
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. ​
13
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; ​
14
Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. ​

Seven Things the Lord Hates 16–19

16
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ​
17
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. ​

Adherence to Instruction and the Adultery Trap 20–35

20
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ​
21
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. ​
25
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. ​
27
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29
So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. ​
33
A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34
For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. ​
35
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Proverbs 6

Verse 1

surety for thy friend — Arab is to braid or intermix, then to pledge oneself for another. 'Stricken thy hand' is taqa, to clap the palms together, the gesture that sealed the pledge: 'A man void of understanding striketh hands' (Prov 17:18). The warning recurs in Prov 11:15 and 22:26.

Verse 3

humble thyself — Raphas is to trample, to prostrate oneself; 'make sure' is rahab, to urge or importune. Having 'come into the hand of thy friend', the surety is in his power and must go and press for release. 'Deliver' is natsal, to snatch away, the verb again in v.5.

Verse 5

as a roe from the hand of the hunter — Tsebi is the gazelle, the swift animal. 'Fowler' is yaqush, from the root of 'snared' in v.2. The bird that escapes is the figure of Ps 124:7: 'Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.'

Verse 6

Go to the ant — Nemalah, the ant; the 'sluggard' is atsel, the idler of Prov 6:9 and 20:4. The ant is sent as teacher of how to 'be wise' (chakam), the same lesson as Prov 30:25: 'The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.' Verses 7–8 give the reason.

Verse 11

as one that travelleth… as an armed man — 'Armed man' is literally a man of the shield (magen). Poverty arrives like a traveller who simply walks in, and want like a soldier who cannot be resisted. Prov 24:34 repeats the verse word for word after the same sleep-couplet (24:33).

Verse 12

A naughty person, a wicked man — 'Naughty' is beliyyaal, worthlessness; 'wicked' is aven, nothingness or trouble. 'Froward' is iqqeshuth, perversity, the same sin as 'a froward mouth' that Prov 4:24 bids the son put away. The verses that follow show him speaking with eyes, feet and fingers.

Verse 13

winketh with his eyes — Qarats is to pinch or blink, a sign given in malice (Ps 35:19). 'Teacheth' is yarah, to point. Eye, foot and finger each carry a signal, so that he conspires without speaking; 'He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow' (Prov 10:10).

Verse 15

suddenly shall he be broken — Two Hebrew words for 'suddenly' (pithom, pethaa) open the two lines, with shabar, to burst or break, the verb used of a potter's vessel in Jer 19:11. 'Without remedy' is marpe, healing. Paul uses the same note of surprise: 'then sudden destruction cometh upon them' (1 Thess 5:3).

Verse 16

six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven — The count is exact: vv.17–19 name seven things, the last the sower of discord. 'Abomination unto him' is literally an abomination of his soul (nephesh), the same idea as 'his soul hateth' in Ps 11:5.

Verse 19

he that soweth discord among brethren — The seventh and last item. The verb and noun (shalach, medan) are those of v.14, where the froward man 'soweth discord'; the list thus ends where his portrait began. The opposite is in Jas 3:18: 'the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.'

Verse 20

keep thy father's commandment — The second line is word for word Prov 1:8, 'forsake not the law of thy mother'. 'Commandment' is mitsvah and 'law' torah, the teaching of the home. Paul takes up the duty: 'Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right' (Eph 6:1).

Verse 24

the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman — 'Flattery' is chelqah, smoothness, as Prov 5:3 says her mouth 'is smoother than oil'. 'Strange' is nokriyyah, a foreigner or outsider to the marriage bond. Prov 2:16 and 7:5 give the same purpose: 'to deliver thee from the strange woman'.

Verse 26

a piece of bread — Kikkar is a round loaf: through the harlot a man is brought down to a loaf, while the adulteress 'hunts' (tsud, as a hunter stalks game) the 'precious life' (nephesh). The prodigal is charged with having 'devoured thy living with harlots' (Luke 15:30); cf. Prov 29:3.

Verse 32

lacketh understanding — Literally lacking lev, heart, the mind: the adulterer is the fool of Prov 7:7, 'a young man void of understanding'. 'Destroyeth' is shachath, to ruin or corrupt; what he ruins is his own nephesh, his life. Prov 7:23 pictures it as a bird that 'knoweth not that it is for his life'.

Verse 34

jealousy is the rage of a man — Qinah is jealousy, chemah the heat of fury, and geber the strong man. The wronged husband is beyond compromise, 'in the day of vengeance' (naqam); v.35 adds that he will not accept a ransom. The law's own 'spirit of jealousy' is described in Num 5:14.