6
1 Beni (my son), if thou put up collateral for thy re'a,
if thou hast shaken hands in pledge with a zar (stranger),
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy peh (mouth),
thou art trapped with the words of thy peh (mouth).
3 Do this now, beni (my son), and deliver thyself,
since thou art come into the palm of thy re'a;
go, humble thyself, and plead with thy re'a.
4 Give not sheynah to thine eyes,
nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the yad,*
and as a tzippor (bird) from the yad of the fowler.
6 Go to the nemalah (ant), thou atzel (sluggard, lazy one);
consider her drakhim (ways), and be chacham (wise);
7 Which having no katzin (officer, leader)
or shoter (policeman) or moshel,
8 Prepareth her lechem in the kayitz (summer),
and gathereth her food in the katzir (harvest).
9 Ad mosai wilt thou lie down, O atzel (sluggard, lazy one)?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sheynah (sleep)?
10 Yet a little sheynot (sleep ),† a little slumber,
a little folding of the yadayim to sleep;
11 So shall thy poverty come as a prowler,
and thy need as an ish mogen (man of armor).
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
walketh with a perverse peh (mouth).
13 He winketh with his eyes, he shuffleth with his regel,
he pointeth with his fingers;
14 Tahpukhot (perversity) is in his lev,
he deviseth rah continually;
he stirs up midanim (contention, strife, discord).‡
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;
suddenly shall he be destroyed without marpeh (remedy).
16 These shesh (six) things doth Hashem hate;
indeed, shevah (seven) are an abomination unto His Nefesh;
17 Haughty eyes, a lashon sheker,
and hands guilty of shefach dahm naki,
18 A lev that deviseth wicked machshevot (plans),
raglayim that are swift in running to ra'ah,
19 An ed sheker that speaketh lies,
and he that soweth midanim (contention, strife, discords) among achim.
20 Beni (my son), keep the mitzvat Avicha,
and forsake not the torat Immecha;
21 Bind them tamid (continually) upon thine lev,
and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall guide thee;
when thou sleepest, it shall be shomer over thee;
and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the mitzvah is a ner (lamp); and torah an ohr;
and tokhakhot musar (reproofs of discipline) are the Derech Chayyim (Life Lane);
24 To be shomer over thee, keeping thee from the eshet rah,
from the smooth lashon of the nokhriyah (strange woman).
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine lev;
neither let her allure thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of an isha zonah a man is reduced to a kikar lechem;
and [another] manʼs wife will prey on the nefesh yekara (precious soul).
27 Can a man take eish in his kheyk,
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk upon hot coals,
and his regel not be burned?
29 So is he that goeth into his eshet re'a;
whosoever toucheth her shall not go unpunished.
30 Men do not despise a ganav if he steal
to satisfy his nefesh when he is starving;
31 But if he be found out, he shall restore sevenfold;
he shall give hon (substance, wealth) of his bais;
32 But the no'ef (one who committeth adultery) with an isha lacketh lev;§
he that doeth it destroyeth his own nefesh.
33 A nega* and dishonor shall he get;
and his cherpah (reproach) shall not be wiped away.
34 For kina (jealousy) is the chamat gever (husbandʼs rage);
therefore he will not spare in the yom nakam (day of vengeance).
35 He will not regard kofer (compensation);
neither will he be the appeased, though shochad (bribe) be great.
* 6:5 of the hunter † 6:10 pl. ‡ 6:14 pl. § 6:32 of understanding * 6:33 See Isa 53:8 for Moshiachʼs nega taken for unfaithful Israel