The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,
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My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
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you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.
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.
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So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
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Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant
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Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
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Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
7 Nobody has to tell it what to do.
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It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
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yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
9 So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?
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How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
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?
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A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! Always Cooking Up Something Nasty
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and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
12 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
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A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
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who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
14 Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
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who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up conflict.
15 Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total smash-up, their lives ruined beyond repair. Seven Things God Hates
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Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
16 Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:
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There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent,
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haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track,
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a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery
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a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.