61 My son , if you have become surety for your neighbor , Have given a pledge for a stranger , 2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth , Have been caught with the words of your mouth , 3 Do this then , my son , and deliver yourself ; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor , Go , humble yourself, and importune your neighbor . 4 Give no sleep to your eyes , Nor slumber to your eyelids ; 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand And like a bird from the hand of the fowler .
6 Go to the ant , O sluggard , Observe her ways and be wise , 7 Which , having no chief , Officer or ruler , 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest . 9 How long will you lie down , O sluggard ? When will you arise from your sleep ? 10 " A little sleep , a little slumber , A little folding of the hands to rest "- 11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man .
12 A worthless person , a wicked man , Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth , 13 Who winks with his eyes , who signals with his feet , Who points with his fingers ; 14 Who with perversity in his heart continually e devises evil , Who spreads strife . 15 Therefore e his calamity will come suddenly ; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing . 16 There are six things which the Lord hates , Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes , a lying tongue , And hands that shed innocent blood , 18 A heart that devises wicked plans , Feet that run rapidly to evil , 19 A false witness who utters lies , And one who spreads strife among brothers .
20 My son , observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother ; 21 Bind them continually on your heart ; Tie them around your neck . 22 When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep , they will watch over you; And when you awake , they will talk to you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light ; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 6:1-23
Commentary on Proverbs 6:1-5
(Read Proverbs 6:1-5)
If we live as directed by the word of God, we shall find it profitable even in this present world. We are stewards of our worldly substance, and have to answer to the Lord for our disposal of it; to waste it in rash schemes, or such plans as may entangle us in difficulties and temptations, is wrong. A man ought never to be surety for more than he is able and willing to pay, and can afford to pay, without wronging his family; he ought to look upon every sum he is engaged for, as his own debt. If we must take all this care to get our debts to men forgiven, much more to obtain forgiveness with God. Humble thyself to him, make sure of Christ as thy Friend, to plead for thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned, and that thou mayest be kept from going down to the pit.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:6-11
(Read Proverbs 6:6-11)
Diligence in business is every man's wisdom and duty; not so much that he may attain worldly wealth, as that he may not be a burden to others, or a scandal to the church. The ants are more diligent than slothful men. We may learn wisdom from the meanest insects, and be shamed by them. Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people. Thus life runs to waste; and poverty, though at first at a distance, gradually draws near, like a traveller; and when it arrives, is like an armed man, too strong to be resisted. All this may be applied to the concerns of our souls. How many love their sleep of sin, and their dreams of worldly happiness! Shall we not seek to awaken such? Shall we not give diligence to secure our own salvation?
Commentary on Proverbs 6:12-19
(Read Proverbs 6:12-19)
If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described. He says and does every thing artfully, and with design. His ruin shall come without warning, and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God. Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God, which are hurtful to the comfort of human life. These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices, and watch and pray against them; and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:20-35
(Read Proverbs 6:20-35)
The word of God has something to say to us upon all occasions. Let not faithful reproofs ever make us uneasy. When we consider how much this sin abounds, how heinous adultery is in its own nature, of what evil consequence it is, and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated. Let us notice the subjects of this chapter. Let us remember Him who willingly became our Surety, when we were strangers and enemies. And shall Christians, who have such prospects, motives, and examples, be slothful and careless? Shall we neglect what is pleasing to God, and what he will graciously reward? May we closely watch every sense by which poison can enter our minds or affections.