New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
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Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.
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If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbor no rest!
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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.
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
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Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
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Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
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You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
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Nobody has to tell it what to do.
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
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All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
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So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—
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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?
11 and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
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Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! Always Cooking Up Something Nasty
12 A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
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Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
13 who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
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They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up conflict.
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Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
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Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total smash-up, their lives ruined beyond repair. Seven Things God Hates
16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
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Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
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eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
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a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
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a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
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Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.
21 Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck.
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Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
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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.
23 For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life,
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For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path.
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife, from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.
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They'll protect you from wanton women, from the seductive talk of some temptress.
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
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Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life.
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You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread, but a wanton woman may well eat you alive.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
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Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
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Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters?
29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
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It's the same when you have sex with your neighbor's wife: Touch her and you'll pay for it. No excuses.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
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Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
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When he's caught he has to pay it back, even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.
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Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away.
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Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.
34 For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
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For jealousy detonates rage in a cheated husband; wild for revenge, he won't make allowances.
35 He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.
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Nothing you say or pay will make it all right; neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
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.