Proverbs 6:1

Proverbs 6:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
• New International Version (NIV)My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
• English Standard Version (ESV)My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger,
• New King James Version (NKJV)My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

Context of Proverbs 6:1

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger, 2if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth, 3then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor.

Proverbs 6:1 word by word

בְּ֭נִי אִם־עָרַ֣בְתָּ לְרֵעֶ֑ךָ תָּקַ֖עְתָּ לַזָּ֣ר כַּפֶּֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

• My sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• ifאִם'im · ifH518
• you have put up securityעָרַב‛ârab · to pledgeH6148
• for your neighborרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• if you have struck hands in pledgeתָּקַעtâqa‛ · to blowH8628
• if you have struck hands in pledgeכַּףkaph · palmH3709
• with a strangerזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114

Commentaries on Proverbs 6:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1If thou be surety for thy friend - לרעך lereacha, for thy neighbor; i.e., any person. If thou pledge thyself in behalf of another, thou takest the burden off him, and placest it on thine own shoulders; and when he knows he has got one to stand between him and the demands of law and justice, he will feel little responsibility; his spirit of exertion will become crippled, and listlessness as to the event will be the consequence. His own character will…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Surety - The “pledge,” or security for payment, which, for example, David was to bring back from his brothers 1 Samuel 17:18. So the word was used in the primitive trade transactions of the early Israelites. In the warnings against this suretyship, in the Book of Proverbs, we may trace the influence of contact with the Phoenicians. The merchants of Tyre and Zidon seem to have discovered the value of credit as an element of wealth. A man might obtain…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Cautions against rash suretiship. (1-5) A rebuke to slothfulness. (6-11) Seven things hateful to God. (12-19) Exhortations to walk according to God's commandments. (20-35) Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5To secure someone else's debt means to use your own possessions as a guarantee. Whether you do this to gain a friend's goodwill or to profit from a stranger (see Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36–37; Deuteronomy 23:19–20), the risk is too high. It could lead to financial ruin. This warning is repeated in Proverbs 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-351-2. if--The condition extends through both verses. be surety--art pledged. stricken ... hand--bargained (compare Job 17:3). with a stranger--that is, for a friend (compare Pr 11:15; 17:18).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 6:1

• Contracts
• Hand
• Prudence
• Surety (Guarantee)
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Hunt
• Loan
• Lust
• Naughtiness
• Suddenly
• Surety
• Teach
• Debt; Debtor
• Gesture
• Hezekiah (2)

Commentaries on Proverbs 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings