My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe 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 guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat 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 one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
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 shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore 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.
Verse one is oh, so true! We were in an awkward position once with money involved. It's difficult to make it out of these situations. The writer of Proverbs tells us to run to the neighbor and get it resolved ASAP.
ReplyDeleteIn verses 6-19, there is an interesting contrast between being busy doing the right thing and being being fake busy doing things that amount to nothing. The first section tells of the ant being busy for one season that keeps her fed throughout the following season. This is contrasted with the sluggard folding hands and sleeping and then being having nothing as poverty "robs" him. The next section has the wicked person doing lots of conniving things that end up amounting to nothing as he is worthless and broken beyond healing. The section from 16-19 lists out things that God hates, which once again remind us that doing wrong only leads you to destruction in the end. It is interesting how often we think of murder as being the worst sin, but look what else is in the same category here: haughty eyes, lying, planning evil or running towards it, and sowing discord among brothers.
ReplyDeleteIn the last section, verses 20-23 tell about the instruction you've received all your life from your parents. It culminates with the phrase, "the reproofs of discipline are the way of life." If your life is truly disciplined where you are making the deliberate effort every day to be faithful in the Word and in prayer and faithful to follow God's commands, it will keep you from the snare of adultery.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, if we do fall into this sin, it is an ongoing grief. You have problems piled on sevenfold. You lose all the goods of your house. Your disgrace will not be wiped away. Rob and I have seen in people's lives this very thing come to be. Jealousy really does make a man furious, and he will not accept any form of compensation.