[1] My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, Have given a pledge for a stranger,
[2] If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth,
[3] Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.
[4] Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;
[5] Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
[6] Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,
[7] Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler,
[8] Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.
[9] How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
[10] “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”—
[11] Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.
[12] A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,
[13] Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers;
[14] Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife.
[15] Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.
[16] There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
[17] Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
[18] A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,
[19] A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
[20] My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
[21] Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.
[22] When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.
[23] For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
[24] To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
[25] Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
[26] For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.
[27] Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned?
[28] Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?
[29] So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.
[30] Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;
[31] But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house.
[32] The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it.
[33] Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out.
[34] For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
[35] He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.