Proverbs 6:1-19

Parental Counsel

1 My son, if you have become ¹surety for your neighbor, Have given a pledge for a stranger,

2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

4 Give no ²sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand And like a ³bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ⁴ant, O ⁵sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having ⁶no chief, Officer or ruler,

8 Prepares her food ⁷in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.

9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

10 "⁸A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest "-

11 ⁹Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.

12 A ¹⁰worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a ¹¹perverse mouth,

13 Who ¹²winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers;

14 Who with ¹³perversity in his heart continually * ¹⁴devises evil, Who ¹⁵spreads strife.

15 Therefore * ¹⁶his calamity will come suddenly; ¹⁷Instantly he will be broken and there will be ¹⁸no healing.

16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

17 ¹⁹Haughty eyes, a ²⁰lying tongue, And hands that ²¹shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises ²²wicked plans, ²³Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19 A ²⁴false witness who utters lies, And one who ²⁵spreads strife among brothers.

Proverbs 6:1-19 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

• 1. Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 20:16; Proverbs 22:26; Proverbs 27:13
• 2. Psalms 132:4
• 3. Psalms 91:3; Psalms 124:7
• 4. Proverbs 30:24, 25
• 5. Proverbs 6:9; Proverbs 10:26; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 26:16
• 6. Proverbs 30:27
• 7. Proverbs 10:5
• 8. Proverbs 24:33
• 9. Proverbs 24:34
• 10. Proverbs 16:27
• 11. Proverbs 4:24; Proverbs 10:32
• 12. Job 15:12; Psalms 35:19; Proverbs 10:10
• 13. Proverbs 17:20
• 14. Proverbs 3:29; Micah 2:1
• 15. Proverbs 6:19; Proverbs 16:28
• 16. Proverbs 24:22
• 17. Isaiah 30:13, 14; Jeremiah 19:11
• 18. 2 Chronicles 36:16
• 19. Psalms 18:27; Psalms 101:5; Proverbs 21:4; Proverbs 30:13
• 20. Psalms 31:18; Psalms 120:2; Proverbs 12:22; Proverbs 17:7
• 21. Deuteronomy 19:10; Proverbs 28:17; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:7
• 22. Genesis 6:5; Proverbs 24:2
• 23. Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 59:7; Romans 3:15
• 24. Psalms 27:12; Proverbs 12:17; Proverbs 19:5, 9; Proverbs 21:28
• 25. Proverbs 6:14

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "clapped your palms"
• [b] Lit "palm"
• [c] Lit "lie down"
• [d] Lit "one who walks"
• [e] Lit "a man with a shield"
• [f] Lit "scrapes"
• [g] Lit "instructs with"
• [h] Lit "sends out"
• [i] Lit "of His soul"
• [j] Lit "sends out"