1
My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2
You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.
3
So 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
Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids.
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Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
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Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,
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Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,
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Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.
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How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
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A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep--
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So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
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A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;
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He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers;
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Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord.
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Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.
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These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
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A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
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A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
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A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
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My son, keep your father's command, And do not forsake the law of your mother.
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Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.
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When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.
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For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
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To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
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Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
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For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27
Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
28
Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?