The Meaning of Proverbs 20:16 Explained

Proverbs 20:16

KJV: Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

YLT: Take his garment when a stranger hath been surety, And for strangers pledge it.

Darby: Take his garment that is become surety for another, and hold him in pledge for strangers.

ASV: Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Take  his garment  that is surety  [for] a stranger:  and take a pledge  of him for a strange woman. 

What does Proverbs 20:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Solomon advised that a person who takes on the obligations of another person who is a stranger or a foreigner to him-is not very wise (cf. Proverbs 27:13). Such a stranger is a bad risk. If you lend to him, make sure you have some collateral, such as his garment or some other pledge, so he will repay you. The proverb encourages us to hold people to their obligations. Much more than simply giving a pledge for a prostitute must be in view. [1]

Context Summary

Proverbs 20:16-30 - "the Glory Of Young Men"
What a wonderful thought is given in Proverbs 20:27! We stand like a row of unlighted candles until God's Spirit kindles us. Has the Divine Nature ever bent over your nature, communicating to it its glow and fire? If so, be very careful that no puff of wind shall extinguish that sacred spark; and see that it is supplied with the daily nutriment it requires. The whole paragraph seems to indicate the clear shining of this light, which must not be hidden under a bushel, but placed on the stand, that it may give light to all who come in. So let your light shine that men may admire neither the lamp-stand nor the wick, but the glory of the light of God radiating from you.
Such a soul will be true, Proverbs 20:17; will be wise, Proverbs 20:18; will eschew tale-bearing and flattery, Proverbs 20:19; will honor the parents that gave it birth, Proverbs 20:20; will win a good inheritance by patient industry, Proverbs 20:21; will wait on the salvation of God, Proverbs 20:22; will accept God's guidance, Proverbs 20:24; will follow mercy and truth, Proverbs 20:28; will be strong, and pure, and faithful. Such should be the glory of all young men and maidens if their old age shall be beautiful, Proverbs 20:29. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 20

1  Proper Living

What do the individual words in Proverbs 20:16 mean?

Take the garment of one who is surety [for] a stranger and [when it] is for - a seductress hold it as a pledge
לְֽקַח־ בִּ֭גְדוֹ כִּי־ עָ֣רַב זָ֑ר וּבְעַ֖ד [נכרים] (נָכְרִיָּ֣ה) חַבְלֵֽהוּ

לְֽקַח־  Take 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
בִּ֭גְדוֹ  the  garment  of  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֶּגֶד 
Sense: treachery, deceit.
עָ֣רַב  is  surety 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָרַב 
Sense: to pledge, exchange, mortgage, engage, occupy, undertake for, give pledges, be or become surety, take on pledge, give in pledge.
זָ֑ר  [for]  a  stranger 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זוּר 
Sense: to be strange, be a stranger.
וּבְעַ֖ד  and  [when  it]  is  for 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: בַּעַד 
Sense: behind, through, round about, on behalf of, away from, about.
[נכרים]  - 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
(נָכְרִיָּ֣ה)  a  seductress 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: נָכְרִי  
Sense: foreign, alien.
חַבְלֵֽהוּ  hold  it  as  a  pledge 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: חָבַל 
Sense: to bind.