Proverbs 6

1 Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,

2 If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,

3 Friend, don't waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You're in that man's clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate.

4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.

5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant

6 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.

7 Nobody has to tell it what to do.

8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.

9 So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?

10 A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy - do you know what comes next?

11 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! Always Cooking Up Something Nasty

12 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.

13 They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.

14 Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.

15 Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total smash-up, their lives ruined beyond repair. Seven Things God Hates

16 Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:

17 eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent,

18 a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track,

19 a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery

20 Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.

21 Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck.

22 Wherever you walk, they'll guide you; whenever you rest, they'll guard you; when you wake up, they'll tell you what's next.

23 For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path.

24 They'll protect you from wanton women, from the seductive talk of some temptress.

25 Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.

26 You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread, but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.

27 Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?

28 Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters?

29 It's the same when you have sex with your neighbor's wife: Touch her and you'll pay for it. No excuses.

30 Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;

31 When he's caught he has to pay it back, even if he has to put his whole house in hock.

32 Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;

33 Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.

34 For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband; wild for revenge, he won't make allowances.

35 Nothing you say or pay will make it all right; neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.

Proverbs 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

Cautions against rash suretiship. (1-5) A rebuke to slothfulness. (6-11) Seven things hateful to God. (12-19) Exhortations to walk according to God's commandments. (20-35)

Verses 1-5 If we live as directed by the word of God, we shall find it profitable even in this present world. We are stewards of our worldly substance, and have to answer to the Lord for our disposal of it; to waste it in rash schemes, or such plans as may entangle us in difficulties and temptations, is wrong. A man ought never to be surety for more than he is able and willing to pay, and can afford to pay, without wronging his family; he ought to look upon every sum he is engaged for, as his own debt. If we must take all this care to get our debts to men forgiven, much more to obtain forgiveness with God. Humble thyself to him, make sure of Christ as thy Friend, to plead for thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned, and that thou mayest be kept from going down to the pit.

Verses 6-11 Diligence in business is every man's wisdom and duty; not so much that he may attain worldly wealth, as that he may not be a burden to others, or a scandal to the church. The ants are more diligent than slothful men. We may learn wisdom from the meanest insects, and be shamed by them. Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people. Thus life runs to waste; and poverty, though at first at a distance, gradually draws near, like a traveller; and when it arrives, is like an armed man, too strong to be resisted. All this may be applied to the concerns of our souls. How many love their sleep of sin, and their dreams of worldly happiness! Shall we not seek to awaken such? Shall we not give diligence to secure our own salvation?

Verses 12-19 If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described. He says and does every thing artfully, and with design. His ruin shall come without warning, and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God. Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God, which are hurtful to the comfort of human life. These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices, and watch and pray against them; and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank.

Verses 20-35 The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions. Let not faithful reproofs ever make us uneasy. When we consider how much this sin abounds, how heinous adultery is in its own nature, of what evil consequence it is, and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated. Let us notice the subjects of this chapter. Let us remember Him who willingly became our Surety, when we were strangers and enemies. And shall Christians, who have such prospects, motives, and examples, be slothful and careless? Shall we neglect what is pleasing to God, and what he will graciously reward? May we closely watch every sense by which poison can enter our minds or affections.

Chapter Summary

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.