77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 6
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1 My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
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or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
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2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
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and are caught by what you said—
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3 follow my advice and save yourself,
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for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
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Now swallow your pride;
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go and beg to have your name erased.
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4 Don’t put it off; do it now!
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Don’t rest until you do.
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5 Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
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like a bird fleeing from a net.
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6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
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Learn from their ways and become wise!
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7 Though they have no prince
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or governor or ruler to make them work,
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8 they labor hard all summer,
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gathering food for the winter.
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9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
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When will you wake up?
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10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
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a little folding of the hands to rest—
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11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
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scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
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12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
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They are constant liars,
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13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
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a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
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14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,
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and they constantly stir up trouble.
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15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,
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broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
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16 There are six things the Lord hates—
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no, seven things he detests:
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17 haughty eyes,
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a lying tongue,
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hands that kill the innocent,
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18 a heart that plots evil,
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feet that race to do wrong,
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19 a false witness who pours out lies,
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a person who sows discord in a family.
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20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
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and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
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21 Keep their words always in your heart.
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Tie them around your neck.
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22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
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When you sleep, they will protect you.
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When you wake up, they will advise you.
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23 For their command is a lamp
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and their instruction a light;
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their corrective discipline
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is the way to life.
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24 It will keep you from the immoral woman,
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from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
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25 Don’t lust for her beauty.
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Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
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26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,
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but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
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27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
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and not have his clothes catch on fire?
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28 Can he walk on hot coals
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and not blister his feet?
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29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
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He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
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30 Excuses might be found for a thief
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who steals because he is starving.
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31 But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole,
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even if he has to sell everything in his house.
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32 But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
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for he destroys himself.
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33 He will be wounded and disgraced.
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His shame will never be erased.
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34 For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,
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and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
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35 He will accept no compensation,
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nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size. |