# Proverbs 06 📖: Warnings Against Folly [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Proverbs Overview]] | [[Proverbs 05]] | [[Proverbs 07]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ## Lessons for Daily Life [[#Verse 01.]] My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor, if you have become a guarantor for a stranger, [[#Verse 02.]] if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered and have been caught by the words you have spoken, [[#Verse 03.]] then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: Go, humble yourself, and appeal firmly to your neighbor. [[#Verse 04.]] Permit no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. [[#Verse 05.]] Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare and like a bird from the trap of the fowler. [[#Verse 06.]] Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe her ways and be wise! [[#Verse 07.]] It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, [[#Verse 08.]] yet it would prepare its food in the summer; it gathered at the harvest what it will eat. [[#Verse 09.]] How long, you sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep? [[#Verse 10.]] A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, [[#Verse 11.]] and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man. [[#Verse 12.]] A worthless and wicked person walks around saying perverse things; [[#Verse 13.]] he winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, and points with his fingers; [[#Verse 14.]] he plots evil with perverse thoughts in his heart; he spreads contention at all times. [[#Verse 15.]] Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly; in an instant he will be broken, and there will be no remedy. [[#Verse 16.]] There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him: [[#Verse 17.]] haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [[#Verse 18.]] a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil, [[#Verse 19.]] a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members. [[#Verse 20.]] My child, guard the commands of your father and do not forsake the instruction of your mother. [[#Verse 21.]] Bind them on your heart continually; fasten them around your neck. [[#Verse 22.]] When you walk about, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you. [[#Verse 23.]] For the commandments are like a lamp; instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life [[#Verse 24.]] by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman. [[#Verse 25.]] Do not lust in your heart for her beauty, and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes; [[#Verse 26.]] for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man preys on your precious life. [[#Verse 27.]] Can a man hold fire against his chest without burning his clothes? [[#Verse 28.]] Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet? [[#Verse 29.]] So it is with the one who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will escape punishment. [[#Verse 30.]] People do not despise a thief when he steals to fulfill his need when he is hungry. [[#Verse 31.]] Yet if he is caught he must repay seven times over; he might even have to give all the wealth of his house. [[#Verse 32.]] A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense; whoever does it destroys his own life. [[#Verse 33.]] He will be beaten and despised, and his reproach will not be wiped away; [[#Verse 34.]] for jealousy kindles a husband’s rage, and he will not show mercy when he takes revenge. [[#Verse 35.]] He will not consider any compensation; he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts - Proverbs 6 contains one of the most well-known lists in the Bible—“six things the Lord hates…seven that are detestable to him.” - The chapter warns against financial entrapment, particularly co-signing loans (a rare theme in Scripture). - The sluggard is mocked with references to the industrious ant—an early use of natural observation for moral teaching. - Verses 20–35 revisit the danger of adultery, showing its emotional and legal consequences. - The theme of divine hatred for sowing discord highlights the importance of unity and truth in relationships. --- 1. Putting up security (6:1) meant guaranteeing someone else's loan. The deal was often sealed by striking hands, like a handshake. 2. Harvester ants in Israel gather and store seeds, which makes them a fitting example of planning ahead. Proverbs 30:25 praises the ant again. 3. The warning about "a little sleep, a little slumber" (6:10-11) is repeated almost word for word in 24:33-34. 4. The "six things, seven things" pattern (6:16) is a common Hebrew poetic device. Amos 1 and 2 and Proverbs 30 use similar numbered lists. 5. The list of seven moves through the body: eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet, then names two kinds of people. 6. The worthless person in 6:12-13 deceives with body language: winking eyes, signals with the feet, and pointing fingers. 7. Binding the parents' teaching on the heart and around the neck (6:21) echoes Deuteronomy 6:8. 8. Verse 26 contrasts the price of a prostitute, a loaf of bread, with the adulteress who hunts a man's very life. 9. A hungry thief must repay sevenfold (6:31). The Law usually required less (Exodus 22:1-4), so "sevenfold" likely means full and complete repayment. 10. An angry husband will accept no ransom or payment for the offense (6:34-35). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary **Main Teaching**: Proverbs 6 offers practical warnings against poor financial decisions (like co-signing loans), laziness, dishonesty, and divisiveness. It includes a list of seven things the Lord hates—behaviors that disrupt community and destroy integrity. **How It Fits in Proverbs**: This chapter continues Proverbs’ hands-on approach to daily living, showing that wisdom applies not just to lofty ideals but to practical choices and habits. It reinforces the book’s larger message that wise living requires discipline and moral alertness. **Apologetic Insight**: Proverbs 6 challenges moral relativism by clearly identifying specific actions that God detests. It defends the concept of divine moral standards and shows that ethical living must be rooted in something greater than personal preference or cultural norms. --- ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the One who paid a debt we could never pay (Colossians 2:13-14). Proverbs 6 lists seven things the Lord hates (6:16-19), yet Jesus loved sinners enough to die for them (Romans 5:8) and makes peace where we have sown discord (Ephesians 2:14). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Do not lie. - ✅ Do not be lazy. - ✅ Pay attention to the wisdom of others. Learn and allow wisdom to save you. - ✅ Pay off or avoid unnecessary debt—don’t guarantee loans you can’t repay. - ✅ Set a goal for saving money and stick to it with discipline this week. - ✅ Commit to doing your best work today—don’t procrastinate like the sluggard. - ✅ Choose not to gossip or spread conflict; be a peacemaker instead. - ✅ Reflect on the things God hates in verses 16–19 and examine your heart for any of them. --- ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Proverbs warns against putting up security for someone else's debt (6:1-5). What wisdom does this offer for our financial decisions today? 2. The ant works without a commander or ruler (6:6-8). What area of your life needs more initiative and diligence? 3. Look at the seven things the Lord hates (6:16-19). Why do you think spreading discord among brothers made the list? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 6-8: Go to the ant, which has no ruler yet gathers its food in summer. - 📖 verses 16-19: There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to Him, from haughty eyes to the one who spreads discord. - 📖 verses 20-23: A parent's commands are a lamp and their teaching a light that guides and protects. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[2 Thessalonians 03#Verse 10.|2 Thessalonians 3:10]] - If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat. - 🔗 [[Galatians 05#Verse 19.|Galatians 5:19-21]] - The works of the flesh include strife and dissensions. - 🔗 [[James 03#Verse 16.|James 3:16]] - Where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder. - 🔗 [[Colossians 02#Verse 13.|Colossians 2:13-14]] - Christ canceled the record of our debt. - 🔗 [[Romans 12#Verse 18.|Romans 12:18]] - As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection Write 3–6 sentences reflecting on: - How this chapter encourages your faith, - Convicts your heart, - Reveals God's character. Optional format: "In light of this chapter, I am challenged to..." or "I am comforted by...” --- ## 📂 Internal Notes