The Message Bible MSG
World English Bible WEB
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 become collateral for your neighbor, If you have struck your hands in 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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You are trapped by the words of your mouth. You are ensnared with 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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Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, Seeing you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, humble yourself. Press your plea with your neighbor.
4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
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Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant
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Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, Like a bird from the snare 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, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;
7 Nobody has to tell it what to do.
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Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,
8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
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Provides her bread in the summer, And gathers her food in the 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 sleep, sluggard? When will you arise out of 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 sleep:
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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So your poverty will come as a robber, And your scarcity as an armed man.
12 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
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A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he who walks with a perverse mouth;
13 They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
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Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who motions with his fingers;
14 Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
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In whose heart is perverseness, Who devises evil continually, Who always sows 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 his calamity will come suddenly. He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
16 Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:
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There are six things which Yahweh hates; Yes, seven which 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, 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 schemes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery
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A false witness who utters lies, And he 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 don't forsake 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 continually on 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, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you. When you awake, it 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 law is light. Reproofs of instruction 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 keep you from the immoral woman, From the flattery of the wayward wife's tongue.
25 Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
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Don't lust after her beauty in your heart, Neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
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 reduces you to a piece of bread. The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
27 Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?
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Can a man scoop fire into his lap, 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. Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
30 Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;
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Men don't despise a thief, If he steals to satisfy himself 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 be found, he shall restore seven times. He shall give all the wealth of his house.
32 Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
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He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding. He who does it destroys his own soul.
33 Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.
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He will get wounds and dishonor. His reproach 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 arouses the fury of the husband. He won't spare in the day of vengeance.
35 Nothing you say or pay will make it all right; neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
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He won't regard any ransom, Neither will he rest content, though you give many 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 World English Bible is in the public domain.