New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of 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 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—
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If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold,
3 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.
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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 Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
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Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose.
5 Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.
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Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! A Lesson from the Ant
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!
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You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,
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Nobody has to tell it what to do.
8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
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All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?
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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 extra sleep, a little more 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 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
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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 What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,
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Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
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They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs.
14 Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.
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Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
15 But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
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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— no, seven things he detests:
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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 kill the innocent,
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eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,
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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, a person who sows discord in a family.
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a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. Warning on Adultery
20 My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
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Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings.
21 Keep their words always in your heart. Tie 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, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise 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 their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is 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 It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
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They'll protect you from wanton women, from the seductive talk of some temptress.
25 Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
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Don't lustfully fantasize on her beauty, nor be taken in by her bedroom eyes.
26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your 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 a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?
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Can you build a fire in your lap and not burn your pants?
28 Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?
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Can you walk barefoot on hot coals and not get blisters?
29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not 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 Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.
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Hunger is no excuse for a thief to steal;
31 But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in 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 the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.
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Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
33 He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.
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Expect a bloody nose, a black eye, and a reputation ruined for good.
34 For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, 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 accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
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Nothing you say or pay will make it all right; neither bribes nor reason will satisfy him.