Chapter Text
Warnings Against Folly
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3Do 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.
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
The Sluggard
6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
The Scoundrel
12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord .
15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
Seven Things the LORD Hates
16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Warning Against Adultery
20My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Summary
Solomon warns against the folly of becoming surety for a stranger and the danger of laziness, pointing to the ant as an example of industrious foresight. He describes the characteristics of a worthless and wicked person who sows discord.
Seven things are listed that the Lord hates: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet swift to run to mischief, a false witness, and one who sows discord among brethren.
Meaning
The passage on the seven abominations reveals what God finds most detestable. Notably, these sins are relational in nature, involving deception, violence, pride, and the destruction of community bonds.
The example of the ant teaches that wisdom is observable even in creation. Diligence, foresight, and self-motivation are virtues that require no external compulsion. The sluggard is warned that poverty will come upon him like an armed man.
Background
The use of numerical lists, such as six things the Lord hates and seven that are an abomination, follows a common Hebrew literary device found throughout wisdom literature.
The ant was a well-known symbol of industry in the ancient world. Harvester ants in Israel were easily observed storing grain, making them a vivid illustration for Solomon's audience.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Warning against rash pledges
- vv. 6-11The ant and the sluggard
- vv. 12-15The wicked troublemaker exposed
- vv. 16-19Seven things the LORD hates
- vv. 20-24Parental teaching as a lamp
- vv. 25-35The peril of adultery
Key Verses
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”— 6:6
One of the most famous wisdom sayings in Proverbs, calling the lazy to learn diligence from the smallest of creatures. It exemplifies the book's method of drawing moral instruction from the natural world.
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:”— 6:16
Introduces the famous numerical list of seven things God hates, employing the classic Hebrew x/x+1 wisdom formula. The catalog has shaped Christian moral teaching on sins of pride, deceit, and violence for millennia.
“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”— 6:23
A foundational verse on the illuminating power of God's word, echoed later in Psalm 119:105. It frames divine instruction not as burden but as guiding light through the darkness of human folly.
“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”— 6:27
A vivid rhetorical image warning against adultery, showing that moral consequences are as inescapable as physical ones. The verse remains a touchstone for biblical teaching on sexual purity and self-deception.
People & Places
People
- The Sluggard — A personified figure of laziness whom the father warns his son not to imitate.
- The Strange Woman — The adulteress whose flattery and beauty lure the unwary into ruin.
Devotional
Proverbs 6 confronts three quiet ruins: rash promises, idle hands, and wandering desire. Each begins small—a handshake, a nap, a glance—and ends in calamity. The father's voice is urgent because he knows how gradually a life unravels.
Yet the chapter is not merely warning. It offers a lamp: the commandment of God bound to the heart, walking with us by day and watching over us by night. Wisdom is not the absence of temptation but the daily choice to let truth lead us, before fire reaches the bosom.
Literary Style
Hebrew wisdom poetry in the instructional 'my son' genre, employing parallelism, vivid metaphor, rhetorical questions, and a numerical saying (x/x+1 formula in vv. 16-19). The chapter strings together discrete admonitions unified by the father-to-son voice.