Proverbs 6:11-21

11 1and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
12 2A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with 3crooked speech,
13 4winks with his eyes, signals[a] with his feet, points with his finger,
14 with 5perverted heart 6devises evil, continually 7sowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; 8in a moment he will be broken 9beyond healing.
16 There are 10six things that the LORD hates, 11seven that are an abomination to him:
17 12haughty eyes, 13a lying tongue, and 14hands that shed innocent blood,
18 15a heart that devises wicked plans, 16feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 17a false witness who 18breathes out lies, and one who 19sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

20 20My son, keep your father's commandment, 21and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 22Bind them on your heart always; 23tie them around your neck.

Proverbs 6:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 6

In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery. Suretyship is described, Pr 6:1; and represented as a snare and a net, in which men are taken, Pr 6:2; and advice is given what to do in such a case, for safety in it, and deliverance from it, Pr 6:3-5; The sin of slothfulness is exposed, by observing the industry of the ant, Pr 6:6-8; by expostulating with the sluggard for his continuance in sloth, and by mimicking him, Pr 6:9,10; and by the poverty it brings upon him, Pr 6:11. Then a naughty wicked man is described, by his mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and heart, whose ruin is sudden and inevitable, Pr 6:11-15. The seven things hateful to God are particularly named, Pr 6:16-19. And next the exhortation in some preceding chapters is reassumed, to attend to the instructions of parents; which will be found ornamental, pleasant, and useful, Pr 6:20-23. Especially to preserve from the lewd woman cautioned against, Pr 6:24,25; whose company is dissuaded from; on account of the extreme poverty and distress she brings persons to, and even danger of life, Pr 6:26; from the unavoidable ruin such come into, Pr 6:27-29; from the sin of uncleanness being greater than that of theft, Pr 6:30,31; from the folly the adulterer betrays; from the destruction of his soul, and the disgrace he brings on himself, Pr 6:32,33; and from the rage and irreconcilable offence of the husband of the adulteress, Pr 6:34,35.

Cross References 23

  • 1. Proverbs 24:34
  • 2. Proverbs 16:27
  • 3. Proverbs 4:24
  • 4. Proverbs 10:10; Psalms 35:19
  • 5. See Proverbs 2:12
  • 6. [Micah 2:1]; See Proverbs 3:29
  • 7. [Proverbs 16:28]
  • 8. Isaiah 30:13, 14; Jeremiah 19:11
  • 9. Proverbs 29:1; 2 Chronicles 36:16
  • 10. See Job 5:19
  • 11. See Job 5:19
  • 12. [Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 16:5; Proverbs 21:4]; See Psalms 101:5
  • 13. Proverbs 12:22; Proverbs 17:7; Psalms 31:18; Psalms 120:2
  • 14. Deuteronomy 19:10; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:3, 7
  • 15. Genesis 6:5
  • 16. See Proverbs 1:16
  • 17. See Psalms 27:12
  • 18. Proverbs 12:17; Proverbs 14:5, 25; Proverbs 19:5, 9
  • 19. [See ver. 14 above]
  • 20. See Proverbs 1:8
  • 21. See Proverbs 1:8
  • 22. See Proverbs 3:3
  • 23. [Job 31:36]

Footnotes 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.