King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 6 notes
1My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Self-rule is the way of wisdom — like the ant, one who rules and deals diligently shall be fat.
8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
Wisdom constantly constantly constantly pleads that we never let go of her in our speech and actions.
It seems that wisdom is easily despised, or it is easier and effortless to walk without wisdom and in folly.
So wisdom admonishes us to hold on very hard to her, for wisdom is our life.
And this indeed is true; no wonder very few wise people are found in our days and times...
22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
As we hold on fast to wisdom, wisdom reciprocates by keeping us and teaching us.
23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
No better person to tell us about the evil 😈 woman than Solomon.
He had a thousand women at his disposal, though he could not dispose them off like he assumed.
25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
I don't know if this proverb was deliberately put after the one talking of a thief's ability to restore what was stolen,
in order to create the contrast that he who commits adultery cannot restore nor ransom in any way.
Wisdom continues to hammer home the dangers of fornication more than others — this goes to show how important of a role avoiding the strange woman 👩 plays in our overall success in this life.
33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Okay, this confirms my thoughts 💭 in verse 32: the one who commits adultery cannot ransom his soul.
Solomon was king and judge and saw to many cases.
So he had the rare opportunity to see people's lives grow and blossom 🌸, only to be destroyed by some of these mistakes.
He saw and judged many cases and gleaned wisdom from them, so we can apply it to our lives. Though we have not that same privilege, we can have the same knowledge.
He, as judge, had seen how many a man sought to avoid being stoned for adultery, as required by the law, and the many pleadings of such a man 👨, all to no avail.
He had to be put to death by stoning, as stated in the law of Moses.