Proverbs 6

6:1-5 To secure the debt of another person is to guarantee it with one’s own possessions. Whether to earn a friend’s goodwill or to turn a profit from a stranger (cp. Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19-20), the risk is too great to take; it could lead to financial ruin. This message is repeated in Prov 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13.

6:3-5 save yourself: The danger of ruin is so great that escaping the situation is almost a matter of life and death, as highlighted by the images of animals caught in a trap.

6:6-11 Lazy people sleep rather than make necessary provisions (see also 24:33-34). They are the opposite of self-motivated and industrious ants. • Extra sleep . . . more slumber sarcastically expresses a lazy person’s ambition.

6:10-11 // 24:33-34 The result of laziness is poverty. It will come suddenly and ruthlessly, like a bandit or an armed robber.

6:12-15 eye . . . foot . . . fingers . . . hearts: The different parts of a worthless person’s body describe overall character, not just an occasional foolish act.

6:13 wink . . . nudge . . . wiggle: These behaviors were signals used while trying to deceive the innocent.

6:15 Even if wicked people seem to prosper, they will suddenly be punished.

6:16-19 The first line gives a number followed by a second line that increases that number by one. This device (called number parallelism) introduces a list of items and often, as here, draws attention to the climactic final item (see also 30:15-23).

6:19 A false witness perverts the truth in court or in everyday conversation.

6:20-35 This passage emphasizes the life-threatening risk of sleeping with another man’s wife (see also 1:8, 23; 2:16-22; 5:1-23; 7:1-27).

6:24-25 The immoral woman uses smooth talk and physical beauty to appeal to the vanity of young men.

6:26 Sleeping with a prostitute has consequences, and sleeping with another man’s wife can cost you your life. Her husband will seek revenge (6:34-35), and God is watching in judgment.

6:27-29 walk on hot coals: Of course his feet will blister. The consequences are horrible.

6:30-31 Seven times is probably a way of saying a great amount since the law never stipulated such high repayment (see Exod 22:1, 4, 9).

6:32-35 A thief might be punished severely even if he had a reason for his actions, but his punishment is nothing compared to an adulterer’s, who has no excuse for his crime. A jealous husband will seek the full punishment provided by law, which is death (Deut 22:22).