Chapter 6

Pledging security for loan

My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

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.

Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Pro.6:1-5)

It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known, perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible. The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26). The term “stranger" probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.

These proverbs describe putting up security (v. 1) for someone else's debt (i.e., promising to pay his debt if he defaults) as a trap in which one's life is endangered. The son is to be tireless in trying to get out of the position in which his labor, wealth, or goods could be squandered because someone else who is ultimately responsible for satisfying the debt has defaulted. The warning is intended to instill prudence in such situations. Therefore it does not imply that putting up security for someone is morally wrong in every possible situation, but rather that it is generally unwise. Wisdom recognizes that in nearly all cases putting up security is ultimately not good for either party involved (cf. 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13).

The main point of the appeal begins in v. 3: save yourself from the whim of the one in debt and plead urgently with him. The point of such pleading is made clear by the comparison to game caught in a trap: focus all your energy and seek to get out of such a situation and thus save yourself (v. 5) from ruin.

We should not have any business dealings with the strangers who are not of the House of God. In our daily life, we have to enter into business or career agreements with the unbelievers. Our words in agreement with their terms should be carefully understood and legally drafted. We have to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. If we are caught into their snares, then we have to get ourselves freed from their bondage. You have to humble yourself before your opponent and win his heart so that you are made free from this obligation. We should not allow the aggrieved party to go to the court of law to enforce a decree on us. We should prefer out-of-court settlement to a court settlement in this regard. You should not give sleep to your eyes eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids till you settle the matter with the aggrieved stranger. In many organizations, there is a disciplinary procedure for enforcing discipline on their employees through punitive action. The aggrieved employees may take recourse to the courts of law and may win their cases. But ultimately in the long run, their relationship with their employers will not be a solid ground. Without seeking remedies through the court of law, a third person, they should settle the matter with their employers.

Slothful as ant

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. (Pro.6:6-11)

The sluggard is addressed twice and is instructed to observe the careful labor of the ant so that he may gain wisdom and heed the warning about the result of his sloth. The ruinous end that awaits the sluggard is described with some of the same images in Chapter 24:30–34, and the ant is called wise in laboring for its provision in Chapter 30:24.

The fact that the ant has no chief, officer, or ruler shows that it has initiative, which the sluggard lacks.

A little sleep, a little slumber. The sluggard may rationalize his late rising as “just a little,” but they destroy his productivity.

The similes used to describe the end of the sluggard are tragic. The poverty and want that his idleness has created are likened to external forces that will bring about his destitution (a robber and an armed man).

Today, many Christian youths do slumber in a literal sense. They sit late daily before their computers or before their television sets and get up late the next morning. They are sluggards and cannot work for God in His vineyard. They are supposed to work in His vineyard round the clock. Today, in many Christian homes, there is poverty because they love to sleep all the time. They remain on their beds even after the sun-rise.

Naughty person with froward mouth

A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. (Pro.6:12-15)

A person who seeks to cause strife among others is heading for an end of irreparable damage. These verses use repeated vocabulary to highlight the characteristics of such a person in two representative descriptions: characteristics of a worthless person (Chapter 12–15), and things hateful to the Lord (Ch. 16–19). These descriptions give a unified warning that it is the Lord himself (v. 16) who brings about the final end of the worthless person (v. 15).

Prov. 6:12–14 : The designation a worthless person, a wicked man indicates that he lacks “worth” in the sense of any desire to act in accord with righteousness, for that is what God values (cf. Deut. 13:13; 15:9). The four following phrases, each beginning with a participle in Hebrew (signals,points, goes, winks), describe the person more fully as one desiring to cause conflict, exploit situations, and gain personal advantage in all that he does. Not only his mouth (crooked speech) but also his eyes, feet, and finger are used to communicate deceptively. The final participle (devises) indicates that the external character of a worthless person's communication stems from a perverted heart that seeks to plant seeds of distrust and suspicion among others (continually sowing discord).

Prov. 6:15 : The primary justification for the conclusion of this verse is the content of v. 16: the Lord hates and thus also knows and judges these things. The unity of vv. 12–19 around these two central verses is indicated by the way vv. 12–14 and 17–19 are knit together in vocabulary and theme (see note on vv. 17–19).

Six things and seventh thing hated by Lord

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.(Prov. 6:16-19)

This numeric literary device presents a representative rather than exhaustive list (cf. 30:15–16, 18–19, 21–31) that seeks to draw particular attention to the final item as the focus of God's hatred. It is easy to agree that God hates the first six items; it is also easy to overlook the seventh (v. 19b), and thus the author pulls the reader up short.

Prov. 6:17–19. The repeated vocabulary from vv. 12–14 indicates that the things listed here are embodied in the character of the worthless person:eyes, tongue, hands, feet, and mouth (breathes) used for wrong purposes (see vv. 12–13), a heart that devises wicked plans (see v. 14a), and the same evil intent of one who sows discord among brothers (see v. 14b).

Adultery and its consequences

My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. (Prov.6:20-35)

Ninth Paternal Appeal: Adultery Leads to Ruin. This is the second of three paternal appeals that focus on sexual ethics (cf. 5:1–23; 7:1–23). Wisdom here helps the son see past the immediate temptation to the consequences, namely, spiritual ruin in the midst of social and financial disgrace (and possibly even death). The fuller description of disaster here evokes and intensifies the description in 5:7–14. The emphasis on sexual sin may be due to the fact that it is an obvious representative of various kinds of sins; probably it is such a good representative because a person in the throes of sexual temptation easily ignores the consequences, and the results are so destructive. Wisdom, then, is the means by which God protects his faithful from such disaster (see note on 2:9–11).

Prov. 6:20: Your mother's teaching. In the appeals of chs. 1–9, usually only the father is mentioned. The mother as teacher appears here and in 1:8 (see note on 1:8). The young man's mother represents respect for the institutions of family and marriage.

Prov. 6:24–26: The adulteress. The specific situation here is another man's wife who would willingly commit adultery with the son being addressed. Such a case would present sexual temptation in its most powerful form. There are other kinds of temptation, of course, and the wise reader will apply this example by making the appropriate adaptations (see Introduction: Literary Features; also note on 5:1–23).

Prov. 6:25: Do not desire her beauty in your heart. See Matt. 5:28.

Prov. 6:26: The Hebrew of this verse is very difficult, and translations vary, but the esv rendering is most likely correct. The meaning is that a prostitute may be quite cheap—as cheap as a loaf of bread—but that having an affair with a married woman is fatal.

Prov. 6:27–31: The father applies two analogies to make his point that succumbing to this temptation leads to disaster. First, he says that one cannot engage in outrageously foolish behavior and not suffer for it (vv. 27–29). Embracing a neighbor's wife is taking fire to one's chest. Second, using an argument from lesser to greater, he reasons that if someone who steals under a sense of compulsion has to pay a severe penalty, how much greater penalty will a man suffer for committing a more disgraceful and altogether unnecessary offense.

Prov. 6:29: None . . . will go unpunished. The obvious question is, “By whom?” In Proverbs, the term “go unpunished” usually implies that God does the punishing (11:21; 16:5; 17:5; 19:5, 9; 28:20).

Prov. 6:35: He will accept no compensation. The offended husband will not be satisfied until you (singular, bringing the passage back to the son being addressed, vv. 20–25) have paid the full penalty.