King James Version KJV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
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My child, if you have given your pledge to your neighbor, if you have bound yourself to another,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
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you are snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
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So do this, my child, and save yourself, for you have come into your neighbor's power: go, hurry, and plead with your neighbor.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
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Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
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save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
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Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
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Without having any chief or officer or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
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it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
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How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
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A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
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and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
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A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech,
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
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winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers,
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
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with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord;
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
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on such a one calamity will descend suddenly; in a moment, damage beyond repair.
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
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There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
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haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
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a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
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a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
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My child, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
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Bind them upon your heart always; tie them around your neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
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When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
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For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
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to preserve you from the wife of another, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
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Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
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for a prostitute's fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another stalks a man's very life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
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Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one's clothes?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
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Or can one walk on hot coals without scorching the feet?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
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So is he who sleeps with his neighbor's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
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Thieves are not despised who steal only to satisfy their appetite when they are hungry.
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
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Yet if they are caught, they will pay sevenfold; they will forfeit all the goods of their house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
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But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself.
33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
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He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
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For jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he shows no restraint when he takes revenge.
35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
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He will accept no compensation, and refuses a bribe no matter how great.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.