1 M y son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

2 Y ou are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.

3 S o do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend.

4 G ive no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids.

5 D eliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. The Folly of Indolence

6 G o to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

7 W hich, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,

8 P rovides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.

9 H ow long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?

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

11 S o shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. The Wicked Man

12 A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;

13 H e winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers;

14 P erversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord.

15 T herefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

16 T hese six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,

19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. Beware of Adultery

20 M y son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother.

21 B ind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.

22 W hen you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.

23 F or the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

24 T o keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.

25 D o not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

26 F or by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.

27 C an a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

28 C an one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?

29 S o is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

30 P eople do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.

31 Y et when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.

32 W hoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.

33 W ounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away.

34 F or jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 H e will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.