Words of Wisdom

¹My son, if you cosign a loan for an acquaintance

and guarantee his debt,

you’ll be sorry that you ever did it!

²You’ll be trapped by your promise

and legally bound by the agreement.

So listen carefully to my advice:

³Quickly get out of it if you possibly can!

Swallow your pride, get over your embarrassment,

and go tell your “friend” you want your name off that contract.

⁴Don’t put it off, and don’t rest until you get it done.

⁵Rescue yourself from future pain[#6:5 The Hebrew word means “trap.”]

and be free from it once and for all.

You’ll be so relieved that you did!

Life Lessons

⁶When you’re feeling lazy,

come and learn a lesson from this tale of the tiny ant.

Yes, all you lazybones, come learn

from the example of the ant and enter into wisdom.

⁷The ants have no chief, no boss, no manager—

no one has to tell them what to do.

⁸You’ll see them working and toiling all summer long,

stockpiling their food in preparation for winter.

⁹So wake up, sleepyhead. How long will you lie there?

When will you wake up and get out of bed?

¹⁰If you keep nodding off and thinking, “I’ll do it later,”

or say to yourself, “I’ll just sit back awhile and take it easy,”

just watch how the future unfolds!

¹¹By making excuses you’ll learn what it means to go without.

Poverty will pounce on you like a bandit

and move in as your roommate for life.

^12-13Here’s another life lesson to learn

from observing wayward and wicked men.

You can tell they are lawless.

They’re constant liars, proud deceivers,

full of clever ploys and convincing plots.

¹⁴Their twisted thoughts are perverse,

and they are always scheming to stir up trouble,

and sowing strife with every step they take.

¹⁵But when calamity comes knocking on their door,

suddenly and without warning they’re undone—

broken to bits, shattered, with no hope of healing.

Seven Things God Hates

¹⁶There are six evils God truly hates

and a seventh that is an abomination to him:

¹⁷Putting others down while considering yourself superior,

spreading lies and rumors,

spilling the blood of the innocent,

¹⁸plotting evil in your heart toward another,

gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong,

¹⁹spouting lies in false testimony,

and stirring up strife between friends .

These are entirely despicable to God!

²⁰My son, obey your father’s godly instruction

and follow your mother’s life-giving teaching.

²¹Fill your heart with their advice

and let your life be shaped by what they’ve taught you.

²²Their wisdom will guide you wherever you go

and keep you from bringing harm to yourself.

Their instruction will whisper to you at every sunrise

and direct you through a brand-new day.

²³For truth is a bright beam of light[#6:23 Or “Torah.”]

shining into every area of your life,

instructing and correcting you to discover the ways to godly living.

Truth or Consequences

^24-25Truth will protect you from immorality

and from the promiscuity of another man’s wife.

Your heart won’t be enticed by her flatteries

or lust over her beauty—

nor will her suggestive ways conquer you.

²⁶Prostitutes reduce a man to poverty,[#6:26 Or “to beg for a loaf of bread.”]

and the adulteress steals your soul—

she may even cost you your life!

²⁷For how can a man light his pants on fire and not be burned?

²⁸Can he walk over hot coals of fire and not blister his feet?[#6:28 A picture of the lusts of the flesh.]

²⁹What makes you think that you can sleep with another man’s wife

and not get caught?

Do you really think you’ll get away with it?

Don’t you know it will ruin your life?

³⁰You can almost excuse a thief if he steals to feed his own family.

³¹But if he’s caught, he still has to pay back what he stole sevenfold;

his punishment and fine will cost him greatly.

³²Don’t be so stupid as to think

you can get away with your adultery.

It will destroy your life, and you’ll pay the price

for the rest of your days.

³³You’ll discover what humiliation, shame,

and disgrace are all about,

for no one will ever let you forget what you’ve done.

³⁴A husband’s jealousy makes a man furious;

he won’t spare you when he comes to take revenge.

³⁵Try all you want to talk your way out of it—

offer him a bribe and see if you can manipulate him

with your money.

Nothing will turn him aside

when he comes to you with vengeance in his eyes!