The Meaning of Proverbs 6:1 Explained

Proverbs 6:1

KJV: My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

YLT: My son! if thou hast been surety for thy friend, Hast stricken for a stranger thy hand,

Darby: My son, if thou hast become surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand for a stranger,

ASV: My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

My son,  if thou be surety  for thy friend,  [if] thou hast stricken  thy hand  with a stranger, 

What does Proverbs 6:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 6:1-19 - Avoid Suretyship And Sloth
A young man, being entreated by his friend to go bond for him, consents, in an easy-going way to become his surety. He promises to be responsible for the other's debt. From that moment he resembles a roe caught by a hunter or a bird snared by a fowler. If any shall have enmeshed himself in an obligation of this kind he is exhorted to spare no pains, to stand on no false pride, but to go with all urgency to the man for whom he has pledged his credit, and get released at all cost. If we can afford to be surety, we can afford to lend the money ourselves. If we cannot do the former, it is weak and foolish to do the latter.
The ants swarm in the woods and fields, and rebuke our laziness and thriftlessness. They work day and might, storing their galleries with food, building mounds which relatively to the size of the builders are three or four times larger than the Pyramids. In sickness they nurse one another; in the winter they feed on their supplies. Learn from the ceaseless industry of Nature, and do something worthy before sundown! [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 6

1  against indebtedness
6  idleness
12  and mischievousness
16  seven things detestable to God
20  the blessings of obedience
25  the mischief of unfaithfulness

What do the individual words in Proverbs 6:1 mean?

My son if you become surety for your friend [If] you have shaken in pledge for a stranger hands
בְּ֭נִי אִם־ עָרַ֣בְתָּ לְרֵעֶ֑ךָ תָּקַ֖עְתָּ לַזָּ֣ר כַּפֶּֽיךָ

בְּ֭נִי  My  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עָרַ֣בְתָּ  you  become  surety 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second 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.
לְרֵעֶ֑ךָ  for  your  friend 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: רֵעַ  
Sense: friend, companion, fellow, another person.
תָּקַ֖עְתָּ  [If]  you  have  shaken  in  pledge 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: תֹּוקְעִים 
Sense: to blow, clap, strike, sound, thrust, give a blow, blast.
לַזָּ֣ר  for  a  stranger 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זוּר 
Sense: to be strange, be a stranger.
כַּפֶּֽיךָ  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, second person masculine singular
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.