< Proverbs 6 >

1 [My] son, if thou become surety for thy friend, thou shalt deliver thine hand to an enemy.
Fili mi, si spoponderis pro amico tuo, defixisti apud extraneum manum tuam,
2 For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.
illaqueatus es verbis oris tui, et captus propriis sermonibus.
3 [My] son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; for on thy friend's account thou art come into the power of evil [men]: faint not, but stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety.
Fac ergo quod dico fili mi, et temetipsum libera: quia incidisti in manum proximi tui. Discurre, festina, suscita amicum tuum:
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber with thine eyelids;
ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, nec dormitent palpebræ tuæ.
5 that thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare.
Eruere quasi damula de manu, et quasi avis de manu aucupis.
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he.
Vade ad formicam o piger, et considera vias eius, et disce sapientiam:
7 For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master,
quæ cum non habeat ducem, nec præceptorem, nec principem,
8 he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.
parat in æstate cibum sibi, et congregat in messe quod comedat.
9 How long wilt thou lie, O sluggard? and when wilt thou awake out of sleep?
Usquequo piger dormies? quando consurges e somno tuo?
10 Thou sleepest a little, and thou restest a little, and thou slumberest a short [time], and thou foldest thine arms over thy breast a little.
Paululum dormies, paululum dormitabis, paululum conseres manus ut dormias:
11 Then poverty comes upon thee as an evil traveller, and want as a swift courier: but if thou be diligent, thine harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier.
et veniet tibi quasi viator, egestas, et pauperies quasi vir armatus. Si vero impiger fueris, veniet ut fons messis tua, et egestas longe fugiet a te.
12 A foolish man and a transgressor goes in ways that are not good.
Homo apostata, vir inutilis, graditur ore perverso,
13 And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers.
annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur,
14 [His] perverse heart devises evils: at all times such a one causes troubles to a city.
pravo corde machinatur malum, et omni tempore iurgia seminat.
15 Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; overthrow and irretrievable ruin.
Huic extemplo veniet perditio sua, et subito conteretur, nec habebit ultra medicinam.
16 For he rejoices in all things which God hates, and he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul.
Sex sunt, quæ odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima eius:
17 The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, hands shedding the blood of the just;
Oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem,
18 and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil, —[are hateful to God].
cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum,
19 An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, and brings on quarrels between brethren.
proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum, qui seminat inter fratres discordias.
20 [My] son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother:
Conserva fili mi præcepta patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuæ.
21 but bind them upon thy soul continually, and hang them as a chain about thy neck.
Liga ea in corde tuo iugiter, et circumda gutturi tuo.
22 Whensoever thou walkest, lead this along and let it be with thee; that it may talk with thee when thou wakest.
Cum ambulaveris, gradiantur tecum: cum dormieris, custodiant te, et evigilans loquere cum eis.
23 For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction:
Quia mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux, et via vitæ increpatio disciplinæ:
24 to keep thee continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue.
ut custodiant te a muliere mala, et a blanda lingua extraneæ.
25 Let not the desire of beauty overcome thee, neither be thou caught by thine eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids.
Non concupiscat pulchritudinem eius cor tuum, nec capiaris nutibus illius:
26 For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.
pretium enim scorti vix est unius panis: mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.
27 Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments?
Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut vestimenta illius non ardeant?
28 or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet?
aut ambulare super prunas, ut non comburantur plantæ eius?
29 So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her.
sic qui ingreditur ad mulierem proximi sui, non erit mundus cum tetigerit eam.
30 It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul:
Non grandis est culpa, cum quis furatus fuerit: furatur enim ut esurientem impleat animam:
31 but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods.
deprehensus quoque reddet septuplum, et omnem substantiam domus suæ tradet.
32 But the adulterer through want of sense procures destruction to his soul.
Qui autem adulter est, propter cordis inopiam perdet animam suam:
33 He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off.
turpitudinem et ignominiam congregat sibi, et opprobrium illius non delebitur.
34 For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Quia zelus et furor viri non parcet in die vindictæ,
35 He will not forego [his] enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.
nec acquiescet cuiusquam precibus, nec suscipiet pro redemptione dona plurima.

< Proverbs 6 >