1 M y son, if thou hast become surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand for a stranger,

2 t hou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

3 D o this now, my son, and deliver thyself, since thou hast come into the hand of thy friend: go, humble thyself, and be urgent with thy friend.

4 G ive not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids:

5 d eliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 G o to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise:

7 w hich having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

8 p rovideth her bread in the summer, gathereth her food in the harvest.

9 H ow long, sluggard, wilt thou lie down? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest!

11 S o shall thy poverty come as a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.

12 A man of Belial, a wicked person, is he that goeth about with a perverse mouth;

13 h e winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

14 d eceits are in his heart; he deviseth mischief at all times, he soweth discords.

15 T herefore shall his calamity come suddenly: in a moment shall he be broken, and without remedy.

16 T hese six doth Jehovah hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 h aughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;

18 a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations; feet that are swift in running to mischief;

19 a false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discords among brethren.

20 M y son, observe thy father's commandment, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

21 b ind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about thy neck:

22 w hen thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 F or the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24 t o keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

25 L ust not after her beauty in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids;

26 f or by means of a whorish woman to a loaf of bread, and another's wife doth hunt for the precious soul.

27 C an a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?

28 C an one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?

29 S o he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife: whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

30 T hey do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry:

31 a nd if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

32 W hoso committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33 A wound and contempt shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34 F or jealousy is the rage of a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance;

35 h e will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content though thou multipliest gifts.