Liber Proverbiorum, 6

1. Fili mi, si spoponderis pro amico tuo, defixisti apud extraneum manum tuam;

1. My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger;

2. illaqueatus es verbis oris tui et captus propriis sermonibus.

2. if you are snared in the utterance of your lips, caught in the words of your mouth;

3. Fac ergo, quod dico, fili mi, et temetipsum libera, quia incidisti in manum proximi tui; discurre, prosternere, insta amico tuo.

3. then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into your neighbor's power: go, hasten, and importune your neighbor.

4. Ne dederis somnum oculis tuis nec palpebris tuis dormitationem.

4. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;

5. Eruere quasi dammula de rete, et quasi avis de manu aucupis.

5. save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6. Vade ad formicam, o piger, et considera vias eius et disce sapientiam.

6. Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

7. Quae, cum non habeat ducem nec praeceptorem nec principem,

7. Without having any chief, officer or ruler,

8. parat in aestate cibum sibi et congregat in messe, quod comedat.

8. she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest.

9. Usquequo, piger, dormies? Quando consurges e somno tuo?

9. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

10. Paululum dormis, paululum dormitas, paululum conseres manus, ut dormias;

10. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

11. et veniet tibi quasi viator egestas, et pauperies quasi vir armatus.

11. and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man.

12. Homo iniquus, vir inutilis, graditur ore perverso;

12. A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,

13. annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur.

13. winks with his eyes, scrapes with his feet, points with his finger,

14. Prava in corde suo machinatur, malum in omni tempore, iurgia seminat.

14. with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;

15. Ideo extemplo veniet perditio sua, et subito conteretur nec habebit medicinam.

15. therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

16. Sex sunt, quae odit Dominus, et septem detestatur anima eius:

16. There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him:

17. oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem,

17. haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18. cor machinans cogitationes pravas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum,

18. a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,

19. proferentem mendacia, testem fallacem et eum, qui seminat inter fratres discordias.

19. a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.

20. Conserva, fili mi, praecepta patris tui et ne reicias legem matris tuae;

20. My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.

21. liga ea in corde tuo iugiter et circumda gutturi tuo.

21. Bind them upon your heart always; tie them about your neck.

22. Cum ambulaveris, dirigent te, cum dormieris, custodient te et, cum evigilaveris, colloquentur tecum.

22. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23. Quia mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux, et via vitae increpatio disciplinae,

23. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

24. ut custodiant te a muliere mala et a blanda lingua extraneae;

24. to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adventuress.

25. non concupiscat pulchritudinem eius cor tuum, nec capiaris nutibus illius:

25. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

26. pretium enim scorti vix est torta panis, mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.

26. for a harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread, but an adulteress stalks a man's very life.

27. Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, et vestimenta illius non ardebunt?

27. Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?

28. Aut ambulare super prunas, et non comburentur plantae eius?

28. Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

29. Sic qui ingreditur ad mulierem proximi sui; non erit mundus, quicumque tetigerit eam.

29. So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.

30. Non contemptui erit fur, cum furatus fuerit, ut esurientem impleat animam.

30. Do not men despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry?

31. Deprehensus quoque reddet septuplum et omnem substantiam domus suae tradet.

31. And if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.

32. Qui autem adulter est cum muliere, vecors est; perdet animam suam, qui hoc fecerit.

32. He who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself.

33. Plagam et ignominiam congregat sibi, et opprobrium illius non delebitur.

33. Wounds and dishonor will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34. Quia zelus est furor viri, et non parcet in die vindictae

34. For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.

35. nec accipiet personam tuam in piaculum nec suscipiet dona plurima.

35. He will accept no compensation, nor be appeased though you multiply gifts.