Proverbs 6:1

The Message

Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You’re in that man’s clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don’t procrastinate— there’s no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!

Cross References

Job 17:3

“O God, pledge your support for me. Give it to me in writing, with your signature. You’re the only one who can do it! These people are so useless! You know firsthand how stupid they can be. You wouldn’t let them have the last word, would you? Those who betray their own friends leave a legacy of abuse to their children.

Proverbs 11:15

Whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned; if you keep a cool head, you’ll avoid rash bargains.

Proverbs 17:18

It’s stupid to try to get something for nothing, or run up huge bills you can never pay.

Proverbs 20:16

Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger; beware of accepting what a transient has pawned.

Proverbs 22:26

Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, pawning your house against a lucky chance. The time will come when you have to pay up; you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.

Proverbs 27:13

Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger; be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.

Isaiah 2:6

God, you’ve walked out on your family Jacob because their world is full of hokey religion, Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus, a world rolling in wealth, Stuffed with things, no end to its machines and gadgets, And gods—gods of all sorts and sizes. These people make their own gods and worship what they make. A degenerate race, facedown in the gutter. Don’t bother with them! They’re not worth forgiving!