Proverbs 6
MSG — The Message Bible (MSG)
NLT — New Living Translation Bible (NLT)
Verse 1
1-5 Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor
or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,
If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back
and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess.
You’re in that man’s clutches!
Go, put on a long face; act desperate.
Don’t procrastinate—
there’s no time to lose.
Run like a deer from the hunter,
fly like a bird from the trapper!
or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,
If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back
and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess.
You’re in that man’s clutches!
Go, put on a long face; act desperate.
Don’t procrastinate—
there’s no time to lose.
Run like a deer from the hunter,
fly like a bird from the trapper!
A Lesson from the Ant
My child,[a] if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
Verse 2
— not in MSG
if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
and are caught by what you said—
and are caught by what you said—
Verse 3
— not in MSG
follow my advice and save yourself,
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride;
go and beg to have your name erased.
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride;
go and beg to have your name erased.
Verse 4
— not in MSG
Don’t put it off; do it now!
Don’t rest until you do.
Don’t rest until you do.
Verse 5
— not in MSG
Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
like a bird fleeing from a net.
like a bird fleeing from a net.
Verse 6
You lazy fool, look at an ant.
Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
All summer it stores up food;
at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your permanent houseguest!
Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
All summer it stores up food;
at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your permanent houseguest!
Always Cooking Up Something Nasty
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Verse 7
— not in MSG
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
or governor or ruler to make them work,
Verse 8
— not in MSG
they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
gathering food for the winter.
Verse 9
— not in MSG
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
When will you wake up?
Verse 10
— not in MSG
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
a little folding of the hands to rest—
Verse 11
— not in MSG
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Verse 12
Riffraff and rascals
talk out of both sides of their mouths.
They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet,
they cross their fingers behind their backs.
Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty,
always stirring up trouble.
Catastrophe is just around the corner for them,
a total smashup, their lives ruined beyond repair.
talk out of both sides of their mouths.
They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet,
they cross their fingers behind their backs.
Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty,
always stirring up trouble.
Catastrophe is just around the corner for them,
a total smashup, their lives ruined beyond repair.
Seven Things God Hates
What are worthless and wicked people like?
They are constant liars,
They are constant liars,
Verse 13
— not in MSG
signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
Verse 14
— not in MSG
Their perverted hearts plot evil,
and they constantly stir up trouble.
and they constantly stir up trouble.
Verse 15
— not in MSG
But they will be destroyed suddenly,
broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
Verse 16
Here are six things God hates,
and one more that he loathes with a passion:
and one more that he loathes with a passion:
eyes that are arrogant,
a tongue that lies,
hands that murder the innocent,
a heart that hatches evil plots,
feet that race down a wicked track,
a mouth that lies under oath,
a troublemaker in the family.
Warning on Adultery
There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
no, seven things he detests:
Verse 17
— not in MSG
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
Verse 18
— not in MSG
a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
feet that race to do wrong,
Verse 19
— not in MSG
a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.
a person who sows discord in a family.
Verse 20
Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;
don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.
Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;
wear them like a scarf around your neck.
Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;
whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;
when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.
For sound advice is a beacon,
good teaching is a light,
moral discipline is a life path.
don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.
Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;
wear them like a scarf around your neck.
Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;
whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;
when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.
For sound advice is a beacon,
good teaching is a light,
moral discipline is a life path.
My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
Verse 21
— not in MSG
Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
Tie them around your neck.
Verse 22
— not in MSG
When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
Verse 23
— not in MSG
For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
Verse 24
They’ll protect you from wanton women,
from the seductive talk of some temptress.
Don’t lustfully fantasize on her beauty,
nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread,
but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.
Can you build a fire in your lap
and not burn your pants?
Can you walk barefoot on hot coals
and not get blisters?
It’s the same when you have sex with your neighbor’s wife:
Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No excuses.
Hunger is no excuse
for a thief to steal;
When he’s caught he has to pay it back,
even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
Adultery is a brainless act,
soul-destroying, self-destructive;
Expect a bloody nose, a black eye,
and a reputation ruined for good.
For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband;
wild for revenge, he won’t make allowances.
Nothing you say or pay will make it all right;
neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
from the seductive talk of some temptress.
Don’t lustfully fantasize on her beauty,
nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread,
but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.
Can you build a fire in your lap
and not burn your pants?
Can you walk barefoot on hot coals
and not get blisters?
It’s the same when you have sex with your neighbor’s wife:
Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No excuses.
Hunger is no excuse
for a thief to steal;
When he’s caught he has to pay it back,
even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
Adultery is a brainless act,
soul-destroying, self-destructive;
Expect a bloody nose, a black eye,
and a reputation ruined for good.
For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband;
wild for revenge, he won’t make allowances.
Nothing you say or pay will make it all right;
neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
It will keep you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
Verse 25
— not in MSG
Don’t lust for her beauty.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
Verse 26
— not in MSG
For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,[b]
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
Verse 27
— not in MSG
Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
Verse 28
— not in MSG
Can he walk on hot coals
and not blister his feet?
and not blister his feet?
Verse 29
— not in MSG
So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
Verse 30
— not in MSG
Excuses might be found for a thief
who steals because he is starving.
who steals because he is starving.
Verse 31
— not in MSG
But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole,
even if he has to sell everything in his house.
even if he has to sell everything in his house.
Verse 32
— not in MSG
But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
for he destroys himself.
for he destroys himself.
Verse 33
— not in MSG
He will be wounded and disgraced.
His shame will never be erased.
His shame will never be erased.
Verse 34
— not in MSG
For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
Verse 35
— not in MSG
He will accept no compensation,
nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.