Proverbs 6:1-5

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My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor^(a)
or entered into an agreement with^(b) a stranger,^(c)^(A)

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you have been trapped by the words of your lips^(d)—
ensnared by the words of your mouth.

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Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

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Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.^(B)

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Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,^(e)
like a bird from a fowler’s trap.^(f)^(C)

a. Proverbs 6:1: Or friend

b. Proverbs 6:1: Lit or shaken hands for or with

c. Proverbs 6:1: The Hb word for stranger can refer to a foreigner, an Israelite outside one’s family, or simply to another person.

d. Proverbs 6:2: Lit mouth

e. Proverbs 6:5: Lit hand

f. Proverbs 6:5: Lit hand

A. Proverbs 6:1: Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 20:16; Proverbs 22:26; Proverbs 27:13

B. Proverbs 6:4: Psalm 132:4

C. Proverbs 6:5: Psalm 91:3; Psalm 124:7