Proverbs 6:2
in Proverbs 6if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
KJV
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMy son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, and art snared with the words of thy mouth, and art taken with thine own speeches. For to be surety for a friend is to take charge of the soul of another on the surety of one's own behaviour. Whence also the hand is stricken with a stranger, because the mind is bound with the care of a responsibility which before was not.
This site's exposition
struck hands in pledge with a stranger
on Proverbs 6:1-5
A son has “put up security for your neighbor” and “struck hands in pledge with a stranger,” and his own promise holds him fast. The son must break free at once, “like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,” putting safety before pride.
This site's exposition
trapped by the words of your lips
The trap is the son's own promise, spoken aloud and sealed by striking hands. Gill notes the pledge binds him to pay if his neighbor fails, and he can get loose only by payment or by the creditor's leave. His lips set the snare.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
You are caught by the words of your mouth, etc. Because when you are compelled to speak good words in preaching what has been entrusted to you, you must first keep what you have said yourself.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
If thou hast rashly entered into such engagements, either wheedled into them or in hopes to have the same kindness done for thee another time, know that thou art snared with the words of thy mouth; it was easily done, with a word's speaking; it was but setting thy hand to a paper, a bond is soon sealed and delivered, and a recognizance entered into.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Or, “If thou art snared ... if thou art taken,” etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
My son, if you have stood surety Our Sages explained this as referring to surety in monetary matters, according to its apparent meaning.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נוֹקַ֥שְׁתָּ | nokashta | you have been ensnared | H3369 → | |
| בְאִמְרֵי־ | veimrei- | by [the] words of | H561 → | 49 times |
| פִ֑יךָ | fikha | mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
| נִ֝לְכַּ֗דְתָּ | nilkadta | you have been caught | H3920 → | 121 times |
| בְּאִמְרֵי־ | beimrei- | by [the] words of | H561 → | 49 times |
| פִֽיךָ׃ | fikha | mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
נוֹקַ֥שְׁתָּyou have been ensnared
nokashtaH3369 →
בְאִמְרֵי־by [the] words of
veimrei-H561 →49 times
פִ֑יךָmouth your
fikhaH6310 →498 times
נִ֝לְכַּ֗דְתָּyou have been caught
nilkadtaH3920 →121 times
בְּאִמְרֵי־by [the] words of
beimrei-H561 →49 times
פִֽיךָ׃mouth your
fikhaH6310 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 12:13An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
it leads to
- Psalms 64:8
They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Proverbs 11:8
The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.
- Daniel 6:24
At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom…
- Ecclesiastes 7:18
It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
- Psalms 64:8
Through
Proverbs 18:7A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Proverbs 12:13
An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- Proverbs 10:14
The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites destruction.
- Proverbs 13:3
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Gregory the Dialogist, Pastoral Rule 3.4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.