Jo’s Place

  Proverbs 6 part 1 Lessons for Daily Life  My child,* if you have put up security for a friend’s debt, or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—if you have trapped yourself by your agreement, and are caught by what you said—follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, or like a bird fleeing from a net. Take a lesson from the ants, …..you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince, or governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you, like a bandit; scarcity will attack you, like an armed robber. What are...

Proverbs 5 Avoid Immoral Women  My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then, you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. But the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. Yet, in the end, she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.* For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honor and you will lose, to merciless people, all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. In the end you will groan in anguish, when disease consumes your body. You will say,  “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all th...