Warning against suretyship
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My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,
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if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
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then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself,(a) and press your plea with your neighbor.
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Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
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Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,(b) like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
Warning against laziness
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Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
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Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler,
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it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.
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How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?
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A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
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and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
Warning against falsehood
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A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
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winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers.
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With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.
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Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
Prevention of seven sins
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There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
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haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
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a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
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a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
Prevention against adultery
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My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
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Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck.
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When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
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For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,
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to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.(c)
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Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.(d)
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For the levy of the prostitute is poverty,(e) and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
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Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?
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Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
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So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
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Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger.
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Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
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He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
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Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away.
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For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.
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He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.
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