Proverbs 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the first collection of the book.
The following table shows the Hebrew text[2] [3] of Proverbs 6 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, If thou hast struck thy hands for a stranger— | ||
| 2 | Thou art snared by the words of thy mouth, Thou art caught by the words of thy mouth— | ||
| 3 | Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; Go, humble thyself, and urge thy neighbour. | ||
| 4 | Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. | ||
| 5 | Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand [of the hunter], And as a bird from the hand of the fowler. | ||
| 6 | Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise; | ||
| 7 | Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler, | ||
| 8 | Provideth her bread in the summer, And gatherest 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 runner, And thy want as an armed man. | ||
| 12 | A base person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a froward mouth; . | ||
| 13 | That winketh with his eyes, that scrapeth with his feet, That pointeth with his fingers; | ||
| 14 | Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth evil continually; He 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 the LORD hateth, Yea, seven which are an abomination unto Him: | ||
| 17 | Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; | ||
| 18 | A heart that deviseth wicked thoughts, Feet that are swift in running to evil; | ||
| 19 | A false witness that breatheth out lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren. | ||
| 20 | My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the teaching of thy mother; | ||
| 21 | Bind them continually upon thy heart, Tie them about thy neck. | ||
| 22 | When thou walkest, it shall lead thee, When thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. | ||
| 23 | For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, And reproofs of instruction are the way of life; | ||
| 24 | To keep thee from the evil woman, From the smoothness of the alien tongue. | ||
| 25 | Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; Neither let her captivate thee with her eyelids. | ||
| 26 | For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread, But the adulteress hunteth for the precious life. | ||
| 27 | Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? | ||
| 28 | Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched? | ||
| 29 | So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished. | ||
| 30 | Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy his soul when he is hungry; | ||
| 31 | But if he be found, he must restore sevenfold, He must give all the substance of his house. | ||
| 32 | He that committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding; He doeth it that would destroy his own soul. | ||
| 33 | Wounds and dishonour shall he get, And his reproach shall not be wiped away. . | ||
| 34 | For jealousy is the rage of a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. | ||
| 35 | He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. |
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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This chapter belongs to a section regarded as the first collection in the book of Proverbs (comprising Proverbs 1–9), known as "Didactic discourses". The Jerusalem Bible describes chapters 1–9 as a prologue of the chapters 10–22:16, the so-called "[actual] proverbs of Solomon", as "the body of the book".[4]
The structure of chapter involves some advices:[5]
The New King James Version entitles the chapters and sections as follows:
This section contains four miscellaneous sayings which are more reminiscent of the proverbial sayings in chapters 10–31 than the instructions in chapters 1–9:
Verses 16–19 contain a graded numerical saying (cf. Proverbs 30:15–31; Job 5:19; Amos 1:3–2:8) that is particularly useful both as a means of classification and as an aid to memorization. The saying lists 'different kinds of malicious and disruptive activity through a review of the unhealthy body': 'eyes… tongue… hands… heart… feet' (cf. Proverbs 4:23–27), with the addition of 'false witness' and 'one who stirs up strife' to make up the seven vices.
My son, if you become surety for your friend,
If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,[6]
This passage focuses on the instruction to protect against the enticements of the seductress, in particular here of "a married woman". An affair with the adulteress would exact a heavy price, 'a man's very life', as a jealous and enraged husband would seek revenge and demand a higher price than money (verses 34–35).
Bind them continually upon your heart,
and tie them around your neck.[12]
When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.[14]
For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,
and the way of life[a] is the reproof of discipline,[15]
They will protect you
from the flattering words
of someone else's wife.[16]
Don’t hunger in your heart after her beauty.
Don’t let her eyes capture you. [17]
For the price of a woman, a prostitute,[a] is the price of a loaf of bread,
but the woman belonging to a man[b] hunts precious life.[18]
Can a man carry fire in his lap
without burning his clothes?[19]
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?[20]
It is just as dangerous to sleep with another man's wife. Whoever does it will suffer.[21]
. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 978-0-19528881-0 .
. Michael V. Fox . Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries . Yale University Press . 2009 . 978-0-30015556-3.
. Henry Hampton Halley. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary . 24th rev. . Zondervan Publishing House . 1965 . 0-310-25720-4.