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6:1  My son, if you have guaranteed the debt of your neighbor or the bond of a stranger,
6:2  you have been trapped by the utterance of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth.
6:3  To extricate yourself from this situation, this is what you must do, my son. Since you have fallen into his power, go directly to your neighbor and plead with him.
6:4  Give your eyes no sleep, your eyelids no slumber.
6:5  Break free like a gazelle from a trap or like a bird from the grasp of a fowler.
6:6  Contemplate the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and gain wisdom.
6:7  Even though it has no chief, no governor or ruler,
6:8  it stores its provisions throughout the summer and gathers its food at the time of harvest.
6:9  How long do you intend to lie there, you sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
6:10  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest,
6:11  and poverty will overtake you like a robber, and scarcity like an armed man.
6:12  A scoundrel, a villainous man, is he who specializes in crooked talk.
6:13  He winks with his eyes, gives signals with his feet, and makes gestures with his fingers.
6:14  His perverted heart is ever bent toward devising evil as he constantly sows discord.
6:15  Therefore, disaster will strike him suddenly; in an instant he will be crushed beyond recovery.
6:16  There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are abhorrent to him:
6:17  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
6:18  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
6:19  a false witness who spews out lies, and one who sows dissension among brothers.
6:20  Observe your father’s command, my son, and do not reject your mother’s teaching.
6:21  Bind them forever in your heart; tie them around your neck.
6:22  When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awaken, they will instruct you.
6:23  For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline point the way to life,
6:24  to preserve you from an immoral woman, from the seductive tongue of an adulteress.
6:25  Do not lust after her beauty in your heart or allow her to entice you with her eyes.
6:26  For if a prostitute seeks a loaf of bread, the adulteress endangers your very life.
6:27  Can a man kindle a fire in his bosom without burning his clothes?
6:28  Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet?
6:29  So it is with the man who consorts with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will escape punishment.
6:30  People attach little blame to a thief if he steals only to satisfy his hunger.
6:31  However, once caught, he must pay back sevenfold and hand over all his household possessions.
6:32  But the one who commits adultery lacks sense; only someone who wants to destroy himself does so.
6:33  He will get nothing but beatings and contempt, and his disgrace will never be wiped away.
6:34  For jealousy inflames a husband’s anger, and he will be merciless in taking revenge.
6:35  He will not consider any compensation, and he will reject even the most lavish gifts.