Proverbs 6; Proverbs 7; 2 Corinthians 2

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Proverbs 6

1 My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor or pledge yourself for a stranger with a handshake,

2 you are trapped by the words of your own mouth, caught by your own promise.

3 Do the following things, my son, so that you may free yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Humble yourself, and pester your neighbor.

4 Don't let your eyes rest or your eyelids close.

5 Free yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter and like a bird from the hand of a hunter.

6 Consider the ant, you lazy bum. Watch its ways, and become wise.

7 Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,

8 in summertime it stores its food supply. At harvest time it gathers its food.

9 How long will you lie there, you lazy bum? When will you get up from your sleep?

10 "Just a little sleep, just a little slumber, just a little nap."

11 Then your poverty will come [to you] like a drifter, and your need will come [to you] like a bandit.

12 A good-for-nothing scoundrel is a person who has a dishonest mouth.

13 He winks his eye, makes a signal with his foot, [and] points with his fingers.

14 He devises evil all the time with a twisted mind. He spreads conflict.

15 That is why disaster will come on him suddenly. In a moment he will be crushed beyond recovery.

16 There are six things that the LORD hates, even seven that are disgusting to him:

17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people,

18 a mind devising wicked plans, feet that are quick to do wrong,

19 a dishonest witness spitting out lies, and a person who spreads conflict among relatives.

20 My son, obey the command of your father, and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.

21 Fasten them on your heart forever. Hang them around your neck.

22 When you walk around, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will watch over you. When you wake up, they will talk to you

23 because the command is a lamp, the teachings are a light, and the warnings from discipline are the path of life

24 to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart. Do not let her catch you with her eyes.

26 A prostitute's price is [only] a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts for [your] life itself.

27 Can a man carry fire in his lap without burning his clothes?

28 Can anyone walk on red-hot coals without burning his feet?

29 So it is with a man who has sex with his neighbor's wife. None who touch her will escape punishment.

30 People do not despise a thief who is hungry when he steals to satisfy his appetite,

31 but when he is caught, he has to repay it seven times. He must give up all the possessions in his house.

32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense. Whoever does this destroys himself.

33 An adulterous man will find disease and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be blotted out,

34 because jealousy arouses a husband's fury. The husband will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 No amount of money will change his mind. The largest bribe will not satisfy him.

Proverbs 7

1 My son, pay attention to my words. Treasure my commands that are within you.

2 Obey my commands so that you may live. Follow my teachings just as you protect the pupil of your eye.

3 Tie them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister." Give the name "my relative" to understanding

5 in order to guard yourself from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk.

6 From a window in my house I looked through my screen.

7 I was looking at gullible people when I saw a young man without much sense among youths.

8 He was crossing a street near her corner and walking toward her house

9 in the twilight, in the evening, in the dark hours of the night.

10 A woman with an ulterior motive meets him. She is dressed as a prostitute.

11 She is loud and rebellious. Her feet will not stay at home.

12 One moment she is out on the street, the next she is at the curb, on the prowl at every corner.

13 She grabs him and kisses him and brazenly says to him,

14 "I have some sacrificial meat. Today I kept my vows.

15 That's why I came to meet you. Eagerly, I looked for you, and I've found you.

16 I've made my bed, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

17 I've sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let's drink our fill of love until morning. Let's enjoy making love,

19 because my husband's not home. He has gone on a long trip.

20 He took lots of money with him. He won't be home for a couple of weeks."

21 With all her seductive charms, she persuades him. With her smooth lips, she makes him give in.

22 He immediately follows her like a steer on its way to be slaughtered, like a ram hobbling into captivity

23 until an arrow pierces his heart, like a bird darting into a trap. He does not realize that it will cost him his life.

24 Now, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words from my mouth.

25 Do not let your heart be turned to her ways. Do not wander onto her paths,

26 because she has brought down many victims, and she has killed all too many.

27 Her home is the way to hell and leads to the darkest vaults of death.

2 Corinthians 2

1 I decided not to visit you again while I was distressed.

2 After all, if I had made you uncomfortable, how could you have cheered me up when you were uncomfortable?

3 This is the very reason I wrote to you. I didn't want to visit you and be distressed by those who should make me happy. I'm confident about all of you that whatever makes me happy also makes you happy.

4 I was deeply troubled and anguished. In fact, I had tears in my eyes when I wrote to you. I didn't write to make you uncomfortable but to let you know how much I love you.

5 If someone caused distress, I'm not the one really affected. To some extent--although I don't want to emphasize this too much--it has affected all of you.

6 The majority of you have imposed a severe enough punishment on that person.

7 So now forgive and comfort him. Such distress could overwhelm someone like that if he's not forgiven and comforted.

8 That is why I urge you to assure him that you love him.

9 I had also written to you to test you. I wanted to see if you would be obedient in every way.

10 If you forgive someone, so do I. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did in the presence of Christ for your benefit.

11 I don't want Satan to outwit us. After all, we are not ignorant about Satan's scheming.

12 When I went to the city of Troas, the Lord gave me an opportunity to spread the Good News about Christ.

13 But I didn't have any peace of mind, because I couldn't find Titus, our brother, there. So I said goodbye to the people in Troas and went to the province of Macedonia.

14 But I thank God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ. Wherever we go, God uses us to make clear what it means to know Christ. It's like a fragrance that fills the air.

15 To God we are the aroma of Christ among those who are saved and among those who are dying.

16 To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a life-giving fragrance. Who is qualified to tell about Christ?

17 At least we don't go around selling an impure word of God like many others. The opposite is true. As Christ's spokesmen and in God's presence, we speak the pure message that comes from God.