The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
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, have given your 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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if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in 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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then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
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Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;
5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant
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save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand 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, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Nobody has to tell it what to do.
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Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,
8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
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she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in 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, O sluggard? When will you arise 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 upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
12 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
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A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,
13 They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
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winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,
14 Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
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with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;
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 calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16 Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:
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There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination 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, and 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 plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery
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a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
20 Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.
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My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck.
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Bind them on your heart always; tie them 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.
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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 sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path.
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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 They'll protect you from wanton women, from the seductive talk of some temptress.
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to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
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Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread, but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.
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for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married womanhunts down a precious life.
27 Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?
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Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters?
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Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
29 It's the same when you have sex with your neighbor's wife: Touch her and you'll pay for it. No excuses.
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So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.
30 Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;
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People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 When he's caught he has to pay it back, even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
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but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.
32 Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
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He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
33 Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.
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He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband; wild for revenge, he won't make allowances.
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For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
35 Nothing you say or pay will make it all right; neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
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He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
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.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.