Proverbs · chapter 6 of 31
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Proverbs 6 gathers practical warnings: do not pledge yourself for another person's debt, learn from the ant how to work, avoid the conduct of the worthless person and recognize the seven things the Lord hates. It ends with a fresh exhortation to keep the father's commandment and to flee adultery, whose consequences cannot be wiped away.
After the long warning of chapter 5, the father changes style in Proverbs 6. Instead of a single speech, he offers several short teachings on different topics: money, work, lying and faithfulness. All of them start from the same idea: wisdom shows in everyday decisions, and small decisions have large consequences.
The chapter begins with the warning about pledges. If the son has put up security for his neighbor or given his pledge to a stranger, he has been trapped by his own words. He must act at once: humble himself, press his neighbor and give no sleep to his eyes until he is free, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter and a bird from the hand of the fowler (vv. 1-5).
Then the father sends the sluggard to look at the ant. With no chief, no overseer and no ruler, she prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provisions at harvest. He warns that a little sleep, a little slumber and a little folding of the hands to rest will bring poverty like a robber and want like an armed man (vv. 6-11).
Verses 12 to 15 describe the worthless and wicked person: he goes about with crooked speech, winks his eyes, signals with his feet and points with his fingers, and with perverseness in his heart he plots evil and stirs up discord. Therefore calamity will come on him suddenly, and he will be broken beyond healing. Verses 16 to 19 list six things the Lord hates, and seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers.
The chapter closes with the father's exhortation to keep his commandment and teaching as a lamp and a light, because the reproofs of discipline are the way of life and keep him from the evil woman (vv. 20-24). He warns against desiring her beauty, and says that whoever takes fire into his lap will be burned (vv. 25-29). A thief is forgiven more readily, but whoever commits adultery destroys himself, and will get wounds and dishonor that will not be wiped away; a husband's jealousy is fury and he will show no mercy on the day of vengeance (vv. 30-35).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The father sends the sluggard to watch the ant and learn from her way of working. Wisdom can come even from nature, and a tiny creature can teach people to be farsighted and diligent.
A little sleep, a little slumber and a little rest with folded hands lead to poverty, which comes like a robber. Laziness does not appear all at once but through small delays that pile up.
The Lord hates pride, lying, violence, wicked plans, eagerness to do evil, false witness and the one who sows discord among brothers. The list shows what hurts God most: what harms people and breaks community.
The commandment is a lamp, the teaching is a light and the reproof that corrects is the way of life. God's Word does not hem the believer in; it lights the path so that he does not stumble.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Humble himself, press his neighbor and get free as soon as possible, giving no sleep to his eyes. — Proverbs 6:1-5
Answer: The ant, which prepares her food in summer and gathers her provisions at harvest with no one commanding her. — Proverbs 6:6-8
Answer: Like a robber and like an armed man. — Proverbs 6:11
Answer: Six, and seven are an abomination to him. — Proverbs 6:16
Answer: One who sows discord among brothers. — Proverbs 6:19
Answer: A lamp and a light. — Proverbs 6:23
Proverbs 6 invites us to review everyday areas of our lives. With money, we can ask whether we are taking on commitments we cannot keep or that put our family at risk, and remember that asking for help in time is a sign of wisdom. At work, the example of the ant encourages steadiness without anyone having to watch us.
The list of seven things the Lord hates is a mirror for the church. Lying, speaking with pride, planning evil and dividing brothers and sisters are still current problems. In a group you can talk about which of them tempts us most and how we can instead build unity in the community. The lamp of the Word helps us see clearly.
Proverbs 6 combines practical advice about debt, work and conduct with a final warning about adultery. In chapter 7 the father returns to this last theme with a detailed scene that shows step by step how a young man without sense falls.
It is a form of Hebrew poetry called a numerical proverb, which lists six items and adds a seventh to stress the last one. It does not mean there are only seven sins; it offers a representative list of what most displeases God, with special emphasis on discord among brothers.
No. It warns against taking on another person's debt without weighing the risk and without being able to meet it, so that one ends up trapped. Other passages of Scripture clearly encourage generosity toward those in need.