Dual Panel1My son, if you give yourself in pledge to another person and stand surety for a stranger,
2if you are caught by your promise, trapped by some promise you have made,
3this is what you must do, my son, to save yourself: since you have come into the power of another, bestir yourself, go and pester the man,
4give yourself no rest, allow yourself no sleep.
5Free yourself like a gazelle from a net, like a bird from the grasp of the fowler.
6Go to the ant, you sluggard, observe her ways and gain wisdom.
7She has no prince, no governor or ruler;
8but in summer she gathers in her store of food and lays in her supplies at harvest.
9How long, you sluggard, will you lie abed? When will you rouse yourself from sleep?
10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands in rest --
11and poverty will come on you like a footpad, want will assail you like a hardened ruffian.
12A scoundrel and knave is one who goes around with crooked talk,
13a wink of the eye, a nudge with the foot, a gesture with the fingers.
14His mind is set on subversion; all the time he plots mischief and sows strife.
15That is why disaster comes upon him suddenly; in an instant he is broken beyond all remedy.
16Six things the LORD hates, seven are detestable to him:
17a proud eye, a false tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18a mind given to forging wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to do evil,
19a false witness telling a pack of lies, and one who sows strife between brothers.
20My son, observe your father's commands and do not abandon the teaching of your mother;
21wear them always next to your heart and bind them close about your neck.
22Wherever you turn, wisdom will guide you; when you lie down, she will watch over you, and when you wake, she will talk with you.
23For a commandment is a lamp, and teaching a light, reproof and correction point the way to life,
24to keep you from the wife of another man, from the seductive tongue of the loose woman.
25Do not be infatuated by her beauty or let her glance captivate you;
26for a prostitute can be had for the price of a loaf, but a married woman is after the prize of a life.
27Can a man kindle a fire in his bosom without setting his clothes alight?
28If a man walks on live coals, will his feet not be scorched?
29So is he who commits adultery with his neighbour's wife; no one can touch such a woman and go free.
30Is not a thief contemptible if he steals, even to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry?
31And, if he is caught, must he not pay seven times over and surrender all that his house contains?
32So one who commits adultery is a senseless fool: he dishonours the woman and ruins himself;
33he will get nothing but blows and contumely and can never live down the disgrace;
34for a husband's anger is rooted in jealousy and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge;
35compensation will not buy his forgiveness, nor will a present, however large, purchase his connivance.