Proverbs 6:7-17

7 Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep:

11 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;

13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers;

14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord.

15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.

16 There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood;

Proverbs 6:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 6

In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery. Suretyship is described, Pr 6:1; and represented as a snare and a net, in which men are taken, Pr 6:2; and advice is given what to do in such a case, for safety in it, and deliverance from it, Pr 6:3-5; The sin of slothfulness is exposed, by observing the industry of the ant, Pr 6:6-8; by expostulating with the sluggard for his continuance in sloth, and by mimicking him, Pr 6:9,10; and by the poverty it brings upon him, Pr 6:11. Then a naughty wicked man is described, by his mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and heart, whose ruin is sudden and inevitable, Pr 6:11-15. The seven things hateful to God are particularly named, Pr 6:16-19. And next the exhortation in some preceding chapters is reassumed, to attend to the instructions of parents; which will be found ornamental, pleasant, and useful, Pr 6:20-23. Especially to preserve from the lewd woman cautioned against, Pr 6:24,25; whose company is dissuaded from; on account of the extreme poverty and distress she brings persons to, and even danger of life, Pr 6:26; from the unavoidable ruin such come into, Pr 6:27-29; from the sin of uncleanness being greater than that of theft, Pr 6:30,31; from the folly the adulterer betrays; from the destruction of his soul, and the disgrace he brings on himself, Pr 6:32,33; and from the rage and irreconcilable offence of the husband of the adulteress, Pr 6:34,35.