6:1 My ·child [L son], ·be careful about giving [L if you make] a guarantee for ·somebody else’s loan [L your neighbor/friend], ·about promising to pay what someone else owes [L shaking hands with a stranger in agreement; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13].
6:2 You ·might [or will] get trapped by what you say; you ·might [or will] be caught by ·your own words [or what you say].
6:3 My ·child [L son], if you have done this and are under your ·neighbor’s [or friend’s] control, here is how to ·get free [extricate yourself]. ·Don’t be proud [L Humble yourself]. Go to your ·neighbor [or friend] and ·beg to be free from your promise [L press/urge your neighbor/friend].
6:4 Don’t ·go to [L let your eyes] sleep or ·even rest your eyes [L let your eyelids/pupils slumber],
6:5 but ·free [extricate] yourself like a ·deer [gazelle] running from ·a hunter [L his hand], like a bird flying away from a ·trapper [fowler].
6:6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person. Watch ·what they do [L its paths] and ·be [or become] wise.
6:8 but they ·store up [get their] food in the summer and gather their ·supplies [provisions] at harvest.
6:9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person? When will you get up from sleeping?
6:10 ·You sleep a little; you take a nap [L “A little sleep, a little slumber”]. ·You fold your hands and [L “A little folding of the arms to…”] lie down to rest.
6:11 So ·you will be as poor as if you had been robbed [L poverty will come on you like a robber]; ·you will have as little as if you had been held up [L deprivation like a shielded warrior].
6:12 Some people are ·wicked and no good [worthless and guilty]. They go around ·telling lies [L with crooked mouths],
6:13 winking with their eyes, ·tapping with [or scraping] their feet, and ·making signs [pointing; gesturing] with their fingers [C a reference to secretive plans or even magic].
6:14 They ·make evil plans in their hearts [L are perverse in their hearts and determined to do evil] and are always starting ·arguments [conflicts].
6:15 So ·trouble [disaster] will strike them in an instant; suddenly they will be so ·hurt [L broken] no one can ·help [L heal] them.
6:16 There are six things the Lord hates. There are seven things ·he cannot stand [L that are an abomination to his soul]:
6:17 ·a proud look [haughty eyes], a lying tongue, hands that ·kill [L spill the blood of] innocent people,
6:18 a ·mind [heart] that thinks up evil plans, feet that are quick to ·do [L run to] evil,
6:19 a witness who lies, and someone who starts ·arguments [conflicts; fights] among·families [brothers; Ps. 133].
6:20 My son, ·keep [protect] your father’s commands, and don’t ·forget [L abandon; forsake] your mother’s ·teaching [instruction].
6:21 ·Keep their words in mind [L Bind them to your heart] forever ·as though you had them tied [fasten them] around your neck.
6:22 They will ·guide [lead] you when you walk. They will ·guard [protect] you when you sleep. They will ·speak to you [or occupy your attention] when you are awake.
6:23 These commands are like a lamp; this ·teaching [instruction] is like a light [C making things clear]. And ·the correction that comes from them [L disciplined correction] ·will help you have [L is the path of] life.
6:24 They will ·keep [guard] you from ·sinful women [the evil woman] and from the ·pleasing words [L flattering tongue] of ·another man’s unfaithful wife [L the foreign woman].
6:25 Don’t desire her because she is beautiful. Don’t let her capture you by ·the way she looks at you [L her eyelashes].
6:26 A prostitute will ·treat you like [or cost you] a loaf of bread, ·and [or but] a ·woman who takes part in adultery [married woman] ·may cost you [L hunts; stalks] your life.
6:27 You cannot ·carry [or scoop] hot coals ·against your chest [or into your lap] without burning your clothes,
6:28 and you cannot walk on hot coals without burning your feet.
6:29 The same is true if you ·have sexual relations with [L go to] ·another man’s wife [L the wife of a neighbor/friend]. ·Anyone who does so will be punished [L All who touch her will not go unpunished].
6:30 People don’t ·hate [despise] a thief when he steals because he is hungry.
6:31 But if he is caught, he must pay back ·seven times what he stole [L sevenfold], and ·it may cost him everything he owns [L he must give the riches of his house].
6:32 A man who takes part in adultery ·has no sense [L lacks heart]; he will destroy himself.
6:33 He will ·be beaten up and disgraced [L find affliction and scorn], and his ·shame [reproach] will never ·go away [L be blotted out].
6:34 Jealousy makes a husband very angry, and he will ·have no pity [not forgive] when he gets revenge.
6:35 He will accept no payment for the wrong; he will ·take no amount of money [not take a bribe no matter how large].
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