The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
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 child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of 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 have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—
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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follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.
4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
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Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
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 escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.
6 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
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Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!
7 Nobody has to tell it what to do.
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Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,
8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
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they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
9 So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?
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But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?
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 extra sleep, a little more 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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then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
12 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
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What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,
13 They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
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signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
14 Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
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Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.
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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But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of 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 the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests:
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 kill the innocent,
18 a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track,
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a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,
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, a person who sows discord in a family.
20 Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.
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My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck.
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Keep their words always in your heart. 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, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path.
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For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.
24 They'll protect you from wanton women, from the seductive talk of some temptress.
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It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
25 Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
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Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
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 a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
27 Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?
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Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?
28 Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters?
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Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?
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 it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
30 Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;
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Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.
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 must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.
32 Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
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But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.
33 Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.
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He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.
34 For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband; wild for revenge, he won't make allowances.
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For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy 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, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.