Proverbs — Chapter 6

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

My son, if you have gone surety for your friend, if you have given your pledge to a stranger... Lapide: Chapter 6 opens with five practical warnings: (1) against suretyship (vv. 1-5); (2) against sloth (vv. 6-11); (3) against the wicked man who destroys friendship (vv. 12-19); (4) against the seven sins God hates (vv. 16-19); (5) against adultery (vv. 20-35). On suretyship: Lapide says it is not absolutely forbidden (the Church permits it for just causes) but Solomon warns against rash and imprudent pledges made for strangers or unknowns, for these lead to financial ruin and legal entanglement. The remedy (vv. 3-5) is to humble yourself before your creditor and beg to be released, even if it requires prostrating yourself.

Vade ad formicam, o piger, et considera vias ejus, et disce sapientiam

Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways, and learn wisdom. Lapide: One of the most celebrated verses of Proverbs. The ant is the teacher of the slothful man — she needs no commander, no officer, no ruler (v.7), yet provides her food in summer and gathers her supply at harvest. Lapide: The ant teaches four lessons: (1) diligence — she works without being commanded; (2) foresight — she gathers in summer for winter; (3) community — she works for the common good; (4) economy — she does not waste. Lapide applies this morally: we must prepare in the summer of this life for the winter of death and judgment; we must gather merit now, for there is no merit in the grave. He also applies it politically and economically: the state needs industrious citizens.

Sex sunt quae odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to His soul. Lapide: This is one of the most famous catalogs of vices in Scripture. The seven are: (1) proud eyes; (2) a lying tongue; (3) hands that shed innocent blood; (4) a heart that devises wicked plans; (5) feet that run quickly to evil; (6) a false witness who breathes out lies; (7) one who sows discord among brothers. Lapide analyzes each: (1) Pride — the root and head of all sins; God \"resists the proud\" (James 4:6). (2) Lying — destroys trust; the devil is \"the father of lies\" (John 8:44). (3) Shedding innocent blood — sins against justice and life. (4) Wicked heart — the source of evil plans. (5) Hasty steps to evil — habitual impetuosity in sin. (6) False witness — destroys neighbor's reputation and justice. (7) Discord — destroys the social fabric woven by charity. The seventh is the worst because it combines many of the preceding vices.

Conserva, fili mi, praecepta patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuae

Keep, my son, your father's commandments, and do not abandon your mother's law. Lapide: This verse returns to the theme of filial obedience (cf. 1:8) but now in the context of the warning against adultery. The father's commandments and the mother's law are the binding moral tradition that protects the young man from the seducer. \"Ligate ea in corde tuo jugiter\" (bind them on your heart always, v.21) — interiorize the law so deeply that it becomes a second nature, an instinct of virtue.