Teks -- Proverbs 6:1-11 (NET)

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts

6:1 My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor, and have become a guarantor for a stranger, 6:2 if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered, and have been caught by the words you have spoken, 6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: go, humble yourself, and appeal firmly to your neighbor. 6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. 6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, and like a bird from the trap of the fowler. 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and be wise! 6:7 It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, 6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. 6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep? 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, 6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Pro 6:1 - Surety

Rashly, without considering how thou shalt discharge the debt as occasion require. Otherwise suretyship in some cases may be not only lawful, but an act of justice and charity.

Wesley: Pro 6:1 - Stricken thy hand

Obliged thyself by giving thine hand, as the custom then was in such cases.

Wesley: Pro 6:1 - With

With the creditor, whom he calls a stranger, because the usurers in Israel, who lent money to others, upon condition of paying use for it, were either Heathens, or were reputed as bad as Heathens, because this practice was forbidden by God's law, Deu 23:19.

Wesley: Pro 6:3 - Hand

Into the power.

Wesley: Pro 6:3 - Friend

Of the debtor, for whom, as being thy friend, thou didst become surety; whereby thou art in his power, by his neglect or unfaithfulness, to expose thee to the payment of the debt.

Wesley: Pro 6:3 - Make sure

Or, and prevail with thy friend, strive to win him by thine incessant and earnest solicitations.

Wesley: Pro 6:4 - Give not sleep

Until thou hast taken care for the discharge of this obligation.

Wesley: Pro 6:6 - Go

This is a distinct precept; and it is for the most part as needless to seek, as hard to find, coherence in the proverbs.

Wesley: Pro 6:11 - Travelleth

Swiftly and unexpectedly.

Wesley: Pro 6:11 - Armed man

Irresistibly.

JFB: Pro 6:1-2

After admonitions against suretyship and sloth (compare Pro 6:6-8), the character and fate of the wicked generally are set forth, and the writer (Pro. 6:20-35) resumes the warnings against incontinence, pointing out its certain and terrible results. This train of thought seems to intimate the kindred of these vices. (Pro. 6:1-35)

JFB: Pro 6:1-2 - if

The condition extends through both verses.

JFB: Pro 6:1-2 - be surety

Art pledged.

JFB: Pro 6:1-2 - stricken . . . hand

Bargained (compare Job 17:3).

JFB: Pro 6:1-2 - with a stranger

That is, for a friend (compare Pro 11:15; Pro 17:18).

JFB: Pro 6:3 - come . . . friend

In his power.

JFB: Pro 6:3 - humble . . . sure thy friend

Urge as a suppliant; that is, induce the friend to provide otherwise for his debt, or secure the surety.

JFB: Pro 6:4-5

The danger requires promptness.

JFB: Pro 6:6-8

The improvident sluggards usually want sureties. Hence, such are advised to industry by the ant's example.

JFB: Pro 6:9-10

Their conduct graphically described;

JFB: Pro 6:11

And the fruits of their self-indulgence and indolence presented.

JFB: Pro 6:11 - as . . . travelleth

Literally, "one who walks backwards and forwards," that is, a highwayman.

JFB: Pro 6:11 - armed man

That is, one prepared to destroy.

Clarke: Pro 6:1 - If thou be surety for thy friend

If thou be surety for thy friend - לרעך lereacha , for thy neighbor; i.e., any person. If thou pledge thyself in behalf of another, thou takest the burden off him, and placest it on thine own shoulders; and when he knows he has got one to stand between him and the demands of law and justice, he will feel little responsibility; his spirit of exertion will become crippled, and listlessness as to the event will be the consequence. His own character will suffer little; his property nothing, for his friend bears all the burden: and perhaps the very person for whom he bore this burden treats him with neglect; and, lest the restoration of the pledge should be required, will avoid both the sight and presence of his friend. Give what thou canst; but, except in extreme cases, be surety for no man. Striking or shaking hands when the mouth had once made the promise, was considered as the ratification of the engagement; and thus the man became ensnared with the words of his mouth.

Clarke: Pro 6:3 - Do this - deliver thyself

Do this - deliver thyself - Continue to press him for whom thou art become surety, to pay his creditor; give him no rest till he do it, else thou mayest fully expect to be left to pay the debt.

Clarke: Pro 6:5 - Deliver thyself as a roe

Deliver thyself as a roe - צבי tsebi , the antelope. If thou art got into the snare, get out if thou possibly canst; make every struggle and excertion, as the antelope taken in the net, and the bird taken in the snare would, in order to get free from thy captivity.

Clarke: Pro 6:6 - Go to the ant, thou sluggard

Go to the ant, thou sluggard - נמלה nemalah , the ant, is a remarkable creature for foresight, industry, and economy. At the proper seasons they collect their food - not in the summer to lay up for the winter; for they sleep during the winter, and eat not; and therefore such hoards would be to them useless; but when the food necessary for them is most plentiful, then they collect it for their consumption in the proper seasons. No insect is more laborious, not even the bee itself; and none is more fondly attached to or more careful of its young, than the ant. When the young are in their aurelia state, in which they appear like a small grain of rice, they will bring them out of their nests, and lay them near their holes, for the benefit of the sun; and on the approach of rain, carefully remove them, and deposit them in the nest, the hole or entrance to which they will cover with a piece of thin stone or tile, to prevent the wet from getting in. It is a fact that they do not lay up any meat for winter; nor does Solomon, either here or in Pro 30:25, assert it. He simply says that they provide their food in summer, and gather it in harvest; these are the most proper times for a stock to be laid in for their consumption; not in winter; for no such thing appears in any of their nests, nor do they need it, as they sleep during that season; but for autumn, during which they wake and work. Spring, summer, and autumn, they are incessant in their labor; and their conduct affords a bright example to men.

Clarke: Pro 6:10 - Yet a little sleep, a little slumber

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber - This, if not the language, is the feeling of the sluggard. The ant gathers its food in summer and in harvest, and sleeps in winter when it has no work to do. If the sluggard would work in the day, and sleep at night, it would be all proper. The ant yields him a lesson of reproach.

Clarke: Pro 6:11 - So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth - That is, with slow, but surely approaching steps

Clarke: Pro 6:11 - Thy want as an armed man

Thy want as an armed man - That is, with irresistible fury; and thou art not prepared to oppose it. The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic add the following clause to this verse: -

"But if thou wilt be diligent, thy harvest shall be as a fountain; and poverty shall flee far away from thee.

It is also thus in the Old MS. Bible: If forsothe unslow thou shul ben; shul comen as a welle thi rip; and nede fer shal fleen fro thee.

Defender: Pro 6:6 - the ant

Whatever may have been God's overall purpose in creating different animals, many of them - perhaps all, if we can learn enough about them - can be used to illustrate important spiritual truths, as in the industrious example of the ant (Job 12:7-10)."

TSK: Pro 6:1 - if thou be // thou hast

if thou be : Pro 11:15, Pro 17:18, Pro 20:16, Pro 22:26, Pro 27:13; Gen 43:9, Gen 44:32, Gen 44:33; Job 17:3; Phm 1:18, Phm 1:19; Heb 7:22

thou hast : To strike, or join hands, was an ancient form of entering into contracts in all counties and all ages.

TSK: Pro 6:2

Pro 12:13, Pro 18:7

TSK: Pro 6:3 - when // go // and make sure thy friend

when : 2Sa 24:14; 2Ch 12:5; Psa 31:8

go : Exo 10:3; 2Ch 36:12; Jam 4:10

and make sure thy friend : or, so shalt thou prevail with they friend

TSK: Pro 6:4

Pro 6:10, Pro 6:11; Psa 132:4; Ecc 9:10; Mat 24:17, Mat 24:18; Mar 13:35, Mar 13:36

TSK: Pro 6:5 - as a bird

as a bird : Pro 1:17; Psa 11:1, Psa 124:7

TSK: Pro 6:6 - the ant // thou

the ant : The ant has been famous in all ages for its social habits, foresight, economy and industry. Collecting their food at the proper seasons, they bite off the ends of the grain to prevent it from germinating, and lay it up in cells till needed. Pro 1:17; Job 12:7, Job 12:8; Isa 1:3; Mat 6:26

thou : Pro 6:9, Pro 10:26, Pro 13:4, Pro 15:19, Pro 18:9, Pro 19:15, Pro 19:24, Pro 20:4, Pro 21:25, Pro 22:13, Pro 24:30-34; Pro 26:13-16; Mat 25:26; Rom 12:11; Heb 6:12

TSK: Pro 6:7

Job 38:39-41, Job 39:1-12, Job 39:26-30, 41:4-34

TSK: Pro 6:8

Pro 30:25; 1Ti 6:19

TSK: Pro 6:9 - How // when

How : Pro 1:22, Pro 24:33, Pro 24:34; Jer 4:14

when : Psa 94:8; Joh 1:6; Rom 13:11; Eph 5:14; 1Th 5:2-7

TSK: Pro 6:10

Pro 6:6, Pro 23:33, Pro 23:34, Pro 24:33, Pro 24:34

TSK: Pro 6:11

Pro 10:4, Pro 13:4, Pro 20:4

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Pro 6:1 - Surety

Surety to wit, rashly, without considering for whom or how far thou dost oblige thyself, or how thou shalt discharge the debt, if occasion require it. Otherwise suretiship in some cases may be not only lawful, but an act of justice, and prudence, and charity. See Gen 42:37 43:9 Phm 1:19 . Or, to (as this prefix most commonly signifies) a friend. Stricken thy hand ; obliged thyself by giving thy hand, or joining thy hands with another man’ s, as the custom then was in such cases; of which see Job 17:3 Pro 17:18 22:26 . With a stranger ; with the creditor, whom he calls a stranger, because the usurers in Israel, who lent money to others for their necessary occasions, upon condition of paying use for it, were either heathens, or were reputed as bad as heathens, because this practice was forbidden by God’ s law, Deu 23:9 . Or, to or for a stranger ; for here is the same prefix which is rendered for in the former clause. And so he may imply, that whether a man be surety to or for a friend, or to or for a stranger, the case and course to be used is much of the same kind.

Poole: Pro 6:2

Thy freedom is lost, and thou art now in bondage to another.

Poole: Pro 6:3 - Into the hand // Of thy friend // Humble thyself // And make sure thy friend

Into the hand into the power.

Of thy friend either,

1. Of the creditor, who possibly may be also thy friend; yet take the following course with him, and much more if he be a stranger. Or,

2. Of the debtor, for whom, as being thy friend, thou didst become surety; whereby thou art not only in the creditor’ s power to exact payment, but also in the debtor’ s power, by his neglect or unfaithfulness, to expose thee to the payment of the debt. And this may seem best to agree both with Pro 6:1 , where friend is taken in that sense, and is distinguished from the creditor, who is called a stranger , and with the words here following; for this humbling of himself was not likely to have much power with a stranger and a griping usurer; but it might probably prevail with his friend, either to take effectual care to pay the debt, or at least to discharge him from the obligation, or to secure him against it some other way.

Humble thyself Heb. offer thyself to be trodden upon , or throw thyself down at his feet . As thou hast made thyself his servant, bear the fruits of thine own folly, and humbly and earnestly implore his patience and clemency.

And make sure thy friend or, and prevail with thy friend ; strive to win him by thine incessant and earnest solicitations. Or, honour or magnify thy friend , which is fitly and properly opposed to, and indeed is in some good measure done by, the humbling a man’ s self before him.

Poole: Pro 6:4

To wit, until thou hast taken care for the discharge of this obligation. Be not secure, nor negligent, nor dilatory in this matter.

Poole: Pro 6:5

With all possible expedition, as the roe runs swiftly away.

Poole: Pro 6:6 - Her ways

This is another distinct precept; and it is for the most part as needless to seek, as hard to find, coherence in the proverbs and counsels of this book.

Her ways her actions and manner of living, especially her diligence and providence, which are the things commended in her, Pro 6:7,8 ; of which naturalists give many instances, as that the ants watch the fittest seasons for all things, that they provide most plentifully against the time of famine, that they never hinder, but always assist, one another in their work, and unite their force together to carry away such things as are too large or heavy for one of them; that they prepare fit cells or repositories for their corn in the ground, and such as the rain cannot easily reach; and if through excessive rain their corn be wet, they bring it forth to be dried; that they bite off the ends of the grains of corn that they may not grow, &c.

Poole: Pro 6:7

Which might direct them in or quicken them to the work, as the bees have their kings, and many other creatures have their leaders. This heightens their commendation.

Poole: Pro 6:8

When they come forth in great numbers, as in winter they stir not out of their holes.

Poole: Pro 6:9 - How long wilt thou sleep?

How long wilt thou sleep? when the ants are watchful and labour, not only in the day time, but even by night, when the moon shineth.

Poole: Pro 6:10 - Folding of the hands

This he speaks in the person of the sluggard, refusing to arise, and requiring more sleep, that so he might express the disposition and common practice of such persons.

Folding of the hands is the gesture of men composing themselves to sleep.

Poole: Pro 6:11 - As one that travaileth

As one that travaileth swiftly and unexpectedly. As an armed man, irresistibly or unavoidably.

Haydock: Pro 6:1 - Hand // Stranger

Hand. Agreements were made by shaking hands, Isaias lxii. 8. (Xenophon, Anab. iii.) ---

Stranger. Septuagint, "enemy." He will presently be such, or thy friend's creditor will soon lay hold on thee. By standing surety for another, we expose ourselves to be ruined by his negligence. (Calmet) ---

The Persians had a horror chiefly of lying and debts. (Herodotus i. 138.) ---

All sureties are not condemned, but only such as are inconsiderate. (Menochius) ---

A diligent compliance with engagements is commended. (Worthington)

Haydock: Pro 6:3 - Make

Make. Hebrew, "humble thyself, and made sure thy friend," (Protestant) entreating (Haydock) and forcing him to pay his debts. The Fathers apply this to pastors, who have undertaken to direct others. Their soul is at stake. (St. Gregory) (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 6:8 - Harvest

Harvest. The economy and diligence of this littel republic is admirable. (Pliny, [Natural History?] xxx. 11.) ---

Some copies of the Septuagint add with St. Ambrose, (Hex. v. []1., &c.; Calmet) "or go to the bee, and behold what a worker it is, and how beautiful is its work; whose labours kings and private people use for health. But it is desirable and glorious to all; and though it be weak in strength, by the love of wisdom it has got forward" (Haydock) in esteem. (Calmet) ---

Nature has given the form of a monarchy in bees, and of a democracy in the regulations of the ant. (Tournemine)

Haydock: Pro 6:11 - A traveller // But

A traveller. Septuagint add, "wicked," and Hebrew gives the idea of a robber. (Menochius) ---

But, &c. This is not in Hebrew, Complutensian , or St. Jerome. (Calmet)

Gill: Pro 6:1 - My son, if thou be surety for thy friend // if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger

My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,.... To another; hast engaged thyself by promise or bond, or both, to pay a debt for him, if he is not able, or if required; or hast laid thyself under obligation to any, to see the debt of another paid;

if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger; or "to" him ^b; whom thou knowest not, and to whom thou owest nothing; and hast given him thine hand upon it, as well as thy word and bond, that what such an one owes him shall be paid; a gesture used in suretyship for the confirmation of it, Pro 17:18; or, "for a stranger" ^c And the sense is, either if thou art become bound for a friend of thine, and especially if for a stranger thou knowest little or nothing of, this is a piece of rashness and weakness; or, as Gersom, if thou art a surety to thy friend for a stranger, this also is a great inadvertency and oversight. It is a rash and inconsiderate entering into suretyship that is here cautioned against; doing it without inquiring into, and having sufficient knowledge of the person engaged for; and without considering whether able to answer the obligation, if required, without hurting a man's self and family; otherwise suretyship may lawfully be entered into, and good be done by it, and no hurt to the surety himself and family. Jarchi interprets it of the Israelites engaging themselves to the Lord at Sinai, to keep his commandments.

Gill: Pro 6:2 - Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth // thou art taken with the words of thy mouth

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,.... Got into a snare out of which an escape is not easy; art no longer free, and thine own man, but under obligation to pay the debt if required; by the verbal agreement made and confirmed by striking hands, and this before witnesses;

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth; as in a net, and held fast therein and thereby, and cannot get loose without paying the debt, if the debtor does not, or without the leave of the creditor.

Gill: Pro 6:3 - Do 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

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,.... Take the following advice, as the best that can be given in such circumstances, in order to be freed from such an obligation, or to be safe and easy under it;

when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; or,

"because or seeing thou art fallen into the hand of thy friend,''

as the Targum; or

"though thou art,'' &c.

as Aben Ezra; which may be understood either of the creditor to whom a man is bound, or of the debtor for whom he is bound, or of both; for a surety is in the hands or power of both: he is in the hands of the creditor, who may demand payment of the debt of him; and he is in the hands of the debtor, who, if a careless or crafty and deceitful man, may leave him to the payment of it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are,

"for thou art come into the hands of evil men for thy friend;''

and the Syriac version,

"seeing for thy friend thou art fallen into the hands of thine enemy;''

and therefore must make the best of it thou canst, and in the following way:

go, humble thyself; that is, to the creditor, prostrate thyself before him; lie down upon the ground to be trodden on, as the word ^d signifies; fall down on thine knees, and entreat him to discharge thee from the bond, or give longer time for payment, if up; for thou art in his hands, and there is no carrying it with a high hand or a haughty spirit to him; humility, and not haughtiness, is most likely to be serviceable in such a case;

and make sure thy friend; for whom thou art become a surety, as the Syriac and Arabic versions add; solicit him, as the former of these versions render it; stimulate him, as the Septuagint; stir him up, urge him to pay off the debt quickly, and discharge the bond, or give thee security and indemnity from it. Or, "magnify thy friend" ^e; that is, to the creditor; speak of him as a very able and responsible man, and as an honest and faithful one, that will pay in due time. Some render it "magnify", and speak well of the debtor to thy friend, which may please and appease him: or, "multiply thy friends" ^f; get as many as thou canst to intercede for thee, and get thee discharged from the obligation by some means or another; to this purpose Jarchi.

Gill: Pro 6:4 - Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Until the above things are done; which denotes of what consequence and importance they are; and that persons in such circumstances should not be careless, dilatory, and unconcerned; but should use great diligence, and leave no stone unturned, or method untried, to extricate themselves; see Psa 132:4.

Gill: Pro 6:5 - Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter // and as a bird from the hand of the fowler

Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,.... As such a creature, which is very swift, when it is got into the hand of the hunter, will strive and struggle to get out; so should a man try all ways and means to get out of his suretyship engagements, especially when he finds himself liable to danger by it; this he should do "immediately" and "out of hand" ^g, as the phrase here used sometimes signifies with the Jewish writers;

and as a bird from the hand of the fowler; another metaphor, signifying the same thing.

Gill: Pro 6:6 - Go to the ant, thou sluggard // consider her ways // and be wise

Go to the ant, thou sluggard,.... That art become surety for another, and got into a snare and net, and yet takest no pains to get out. Or this may be directed, not to the surety, but the debtor; who, through his slothfulness, has contracted debts, and uses no industry to be in a capacity to pay them. Or, it may be, this has no connection with the former; but the wise man proceeds to a new subject, and to dissuade from idleness, which brings ruin on families, and leads to all sin; and, for the instruction of idle and slothful men, proposes the example of the ant, and sends them to it to learn industry of it ^h;

consider her ways; what diligence and industry it uses in providing its food; which, though a small, weak, feeble creature, yet will travel over flints and stones, climb trees, enter into towers, barns, cellars, places high and low, in search of food; never hinder, but help one another in carrying their burdens; prepare little cells to put their provisions in, and are so built as to secure them from rain; and if at any time their corn is wet, they bring out and dry it, and bite off the ends of it, that it may not grow. These, with others, are taken notice of by Frantzius ⁱ; and some of them by Gersom on the place;

and be wise; learn wisdom of it, and be wiser than that, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions: this is a mortification of proud men, that would be reckoned wise, to be sent to so despicable a creature to get wisdom from.

Gill: Pro 6:7 - Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler.

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler. None to guide and direct her what to do; nor any to overlook her, to see that she does aright, or to oblige her to work, and keep her to it; nor any to call her to an account, and correct her for doing amiss; and nevertheless diligent and industrious, doing everything of herself, by the instinct of nature, readily and willingly: and yet how slothful are men; who, besides the dictates of nature, reason, and conscience, have parents, masters, ministers, and magistrates, to guide, direct, exhort, instruct, and enforce! so Aristotle ^k says of the ant, that it is αγαρχος, without any ruler or governor.

Gill: Pro 6:8 - Provideth her meat in the summer // and gathereth her food in the harvest

Provideth her meat in the summer,.... Against the winter, of which it is mindful, when it never comes out of its place, having in the summer time got a sufficiency laid up in cells for its use: she toils in the heat of summer to get in her provision for the winter, being sensible that nothing is to be gotten then; she works at it night and day while the season lasts; so diligent is it in laying up its stores at the proper opportunity ^l;

and gathereth her food in the harvest; the time when corn is ripe, and is shed on the earth; this it gathereth, and lays up in its repositories against a time of need. The seeds it gathers and lays up; it bites off the chit or bud end of them, that they may not grow, as Pliny ^m and others observe, but be a winter store; hence its name in Hebrew is "nemalah", from "namal", "to cut off"; it being done by biting. Yea, according to Aelianus ⁿ, it seems to have some sense of futurity with respect to famine, which being near, it will work exceeding hard to lay up food, fruits, and seed; and, according to Virgil ^o and others, it seems to presage old age, and therefore provides against it. An instruction this to work, while persons are in health, and have youth on their side; that they may have not only a sufficiency for present use, but to lay up against a time of sickness and old age. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add,

"or go to the bee, and learn what a worker she is, and what an admirable work she performs; whose labours kings and private persons use for health: she is desirable to all, and famous; and though weak in strength, honouring wisdom is advanced.''

But this is not in the Hebrew text; but perhaps being written in the margin of some copy of the Septuagint as a parallel instance, was by some unskilful copier put into the text of the Greek version, from whence the Arabic version has taken it; it crept in very early, for Clemens of Alexandria makes mention of it ^p.

Gill: Pro 6:9 - How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard // when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?.... Or "lie" ^q in bed, indulging in sloth and ease; while the industrious ant is busy in getting in its provisions, even by moonlight, as naturalists ^r observe;

when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? and be about thy lawful calling? doing the duties of religion, and the business of life; providing things honest in the sight of all men; things necessary for thyself and family, and wherewith to do good to others; exercising a conscience void of offence both to God and men. Time should not be slept away, to the neglect of the affairs of life, nor of the concerns of the immortal soul and a future state; men should not be slothful in things temporal or spiritual: whatever may be the proper time to awake and arise out of sleep in a morning, which seems to be according to a man's circumstances, health and business; it is always high time for the sinner to awake out of the sleep of sin, and arise from the dead; and for the drowsy saint to arise out of his lethargy and carnal security.

Gill: Pro 6:10 - Yet a little sleep, a little slumber // a little folding of the hands to sleep

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,.... Or, "little sleeps, little slumbers" ^s. These are the words of the sluggard, in answer to the call of him to awake and arise, desiring he might not be disturbed, but be suffered to sleep on longer: there is a very beautiful climax or gradation in the words, aptly expressing the disposition and actions of a sluggard; he first desires a "few sleeps" more, some sound sleeps one after another; which is quite agreeable to his character: and if he cannot be allowed them, then he requests a "few slumbers" at least, some dozings, till he can get himself thoroughly awake; and if these cannot be granted, yet he prays however that this might be admitted,

a little folding of the hands to sleep; or, "to lie down" ^t; a few tossings and tumblings upon the bed more, with his hands folded about his breast; a sleeping gesture, and the posture of sluggards. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "a little thou wilt embrace the breast with the hands"; and the Syriac version, "and a little thou wilt put thine hand upon thy breast". The Jewish commentators understand this as a direction and command to sleep and slumber but little, since a little sleep is sufficient for nature; or otherwise poverty will come, &c. but the former sense is best.

Gill: Pro 6:11 - So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth // and thy want as an armed man

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,.... Either swiftly and suddenly, as a traveller makes haste to get to his journey's end, and comes upon his family or friends at an unawares; or though he moves gradually, by slow paces and silent steps, yet surely: and so it signifies that poverty should come upon the sluggard very quickly, and before he was aware: and though it might come by degrees, yet it would certainly come;

and thy want as an armed man; or, "thy wants as a man of shield" ^u: denoting many wants that should come rushing in one upon another, like a man armed with shield and buckler; appearing with great terror and force, not to be resisted. It denotes the unavoidableness of being brought into penury and want by sloth, and the terribleness of such a condition. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, add,

"but if thou art not slothful, thy harvest shall come as a fountain (as the inundation of a fountain, Arabic); but want shall flee as an evil racer (as an evil man, Arabic; far from thee, Vulgate Latin):''

but this is not in the Hebrew text.