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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Proverbs 20:16 Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/proverbs/20-16.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/17/20_Pro_20_16.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Proverbs 20:16 - Wine is a Mocker" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/proverbs/20-16.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/proverbs/20-16.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/proverbs/">Proverbs</a> > <a href="/proverbs/20.htm">Chapter 20</a> > Verse 16</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad16.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/proverbs/20-15.htm" title="Proverbs 20:15">◄</a> Proverbs 20:16 <a href="/proverbs/20-17.htm" title="Proverbs 20:17">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/proverbs/20.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/proverbs/20.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/proverbs/20.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/proverbs/20.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/20.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/proverbs/20.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Take his garment that is surety <i>for</i> a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/proverbs/20.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Take the garment of one who is surety <i>for</i> a stranger, And hold it as a pledge <i>when it</i> is for a seductress.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/proverbs/20.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger; And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/proverbs/20.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/proverbs/20.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/proverbs/20.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger; And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/proverbs/20.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />[The judge tells the creditor], “Take the clothes of one who is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge [when he guarantees a loan] for foreigners.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/proverbs/20.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/proverbs/20.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/proverbs/20.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/proverbs/20.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />You deserve to lose your coat if you loan it to someone to guarantee payment for the debt of a stranger. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/proverbs/20.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and hold him in pledge that is surety for strangers.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/proverbs/20.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Hold on to the garment of one who guarantees a stranger's loan, and hold responsible the person who makes a loan on behalf of a foreigner.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/proverbs/20.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Anyone stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger's debts ought to have their own property held to guarantee payment. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/proverbs/20.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Take the garment of anyone who puts up collateral for a stranger; hold it in pledge if he does it for an unfamiliar woman.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/proverbs/20.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/proverbs/20.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Take a man's garment when he has given security for a stranger, and when he gives surety for strangers, hold him in pledge. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/proverbs/20.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/proverbs/20.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/proverbs/20.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/proverbs/20.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />When a stranger has been guarantor, take his garment, "" And pledge it for strangers.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/proverbs/20.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Take his garment when a stranger hath been surety, And for strangers pledge it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/proverbs/20.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Take his garment that became surety for a stranger: and bind him by a pledge for strange women.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/proverbs/20.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Take away the garment of him that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge from him for strangers. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/proverbs/20.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Take away the vestments of him who stands up to vouch for a stranger, and take a pledge from him instead of from outsiders.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/proverbs/20.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of the one who became surety for a stranger; if for foreigners, exact the pledge! <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/proverbs/20.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger; seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/proverbs/20.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger; and take his pledge for the sake of a stranger.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/proverbs/20.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Take the cloak of one that pledges security for a foreigner, and for the sake of foreigners take his pledge.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/proverbs/20.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien woman.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/proverbs/20-16.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpUA5ZltBeQ?start=4037" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/20.htm">Wine is a Mocker</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">15</span>There is an abundance of gold and rubies, but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure. <span class="reftext">16</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/3947.htm" title="3947: lə·qaḥ- (V-Qal-Imp-ms) -- To take. A primitive root; to take.">Take</a> <a href="/hebrew/899.htm" title="899: biḡ·ḏōw (N-msc:: 3ms) -- A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage. From bagad; a covering, i.e. Clothing; also treachery or pillage.">the garment</a> <a href="/hebrew/3588.htm" title="3588: kî- (Conj) -- That, for, when. ">of the one</a> <a href="/hebrew/6148.htm" title="6148: ‘ā·raḇ (V-Qal-Perf-3ms) -- A primitive root; to braid, i.e. Intermix; technically, to traffic; also or give to be security.">who posts security</a> <a href="/hebrew/2114.htm" title="2114: zār (Adj-ms) -- A primitive root; to turn aside; hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically to commit adultery.">for a stranger;</a> <a href="/hebrew/2254.htm" title="2254: ḥaḇ·lê·hū (V-Qal-Imp-ms:: 3ms) -- A primitive root; to wind tightly, i.e. To bind; specifically, by a pledge; figuratively, to pervert, destroy; also to writhe in pain.">get collateral</a> <a href="/hebrew/1157.htm" title="1157: ū·ḇə·‘aḏ (Conj-w:: Prep) -- From ad with prepositional prefix; in up to or over against; generally at, beside, among, behind, for, etc.">if it is for</a> <a href="/hebrew/5237.htm" title="5237: nå̄·ḵə·rīm (Adj-fs) -- Foreign, alien. From neker; strange, in a variety of degrees and applications.">a foreigner.</a> </span><span class="reftext">17</span>Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Proverbs 27:13</a></span><br />Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/22-26.htm">Exodus 22:26-27</a></span><br />If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, / because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/5-42.htm">Matthew 5:42</a></span><br />Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/6-34.htm">Luke 6:34-35</a></span><br />And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. / But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/6-1.htm">Proverbs 6:1-5</a></span><br />My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger, / if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth, / then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/11-15.htm">Proverbs 11:15</a></span><br />He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/17-18.htm">Proverbs 17:18</a></span><br />A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Proverbs 22:26-27</a></span><br />Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. / If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/22-6.htm">Job 22:6</a></span><br />For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/nehemiah/5-3.htm">Nehemiah 5:3-5</a></span><br />Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” / Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. / We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/25-14.htm">Matthew 25:14-30</a></span><br />For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. / To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey. / The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/19-12.htm">Luke 19:12-27</a></span><br />So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return. / Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said. / But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_kings/4-1.htm">2 Kings 4:1-7</a></span><br />Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!” / “How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” / “Go,” said Elisha, “borrow empty jars from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/8-9.htm">2 Corinthians 8:9</a></span><br />For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/9-6.htm">2 Corinthians 9:6-7</a></span><br />Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. / Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.</p><p class="hdg">take his</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/11-15.htm">Proverbs 11:15</a></b></br> He that is surety for a stranger shall smart <i>for it</i>: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Proverbs 22:26,27</a></b></br> Be not thou <i>one</i> of them that strike hands, <i>or</i> of them that are sureties for debts… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Proverbs 27:13</a></b></br> Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.</p><p class="hdg">strange</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/2-16.htm">Proverbs 2:16</a></b></br> To deliver thee from the strange woman, <i>even</i> from the stranger <i>which</i> flattereth with her words;</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/5-3.htm">Proverbs 5:3</a></b></br> For the lips of a strange woman drop <i>as</i> an honeycomb, and her mouth <i>is</i> smoother than oil:</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/7-5.htm">Proverbs 7:5,10</a></b></br> That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger <i>which</i> flattereth with her words… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/proverbs/7-5.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-27.htm">Clothing</a> <a href="/proverbs/17-18.htm">Collateral</a> <a href="/psalms/146-9.htm">Foreigners</a> <a href="/psalms/133-2.htm">Garment</a> <a href="/proverbs/19-27.htm">Gives</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-13.htm">Hold</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-14.htm">Makes</a> <a href="/proverbs/17-18.htm">Pledge</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-8.htm">Puts</a> <a href="/proverbs/17-18.htm">Responsible</a> <a href="/proverbs/11-15.htm">Security</a> <a href="/proverbs/14-10.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/proverbs/14-10.htm">Stranger</a> <a href="/proverbs/17-18.htm">Surety</a> <a href="/psalms/74-20.htm">Undertaking</a> <a href="/proverbs/17-20.htm">Wayward</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/proverbs/23-27.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-20.htm">Clothing</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Collateral</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Foreigners</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-20.htm">Garment</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-19.htm">Gives</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-26.htm">Hold</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-29.htm">Makes</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Pledge</a> <a href="/proverbs/20-20.htm">Puts</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Responsible</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Security</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-8.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-2.htm">Stranger</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-26.htm">Surety</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Undertaking</a> <a href="/proverbs/23-27.htm">Wayward</a><div class="vheading2">Proverbs 20</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/20-1.htm">Proper Living</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/20.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/proverbs/20.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger;</b><br>In ancient Israel, garments were often used as collateral for loans, as they were valuable and essential items. The act of taking a garment as security indicates a serious commitment to repay a debt. This phrase warns against the imprudence of guaranteeing a loan for someone unknown or untrustworthy. The Bible frequently advises caution in financial dealings, emphasizing wisdom and discernment (<a href="/proverbs/6.htm">Proverbs 6:1-5</a>). The garment symbolizes personal responsibility and the potential consequences of rash decisions. This principle reflects the broader biblical theme of stewardship and accountability.<p><b>get collateral if it is for a foreigner.</b><br>The mention of a "foreigner" highlights the increased risk involved in financial transactions with those outside one's community. In the ancient Near East, foreigners were often seen as outsiders with different customs and legal protections, making transactions with them more precarious. This advice underscores the importance of securing one's interests when dealing with unfamiliar parties. The Bible often addresses the treatment of foreigners, advocating for justice and fairness (<a href="/exodus/22-21.htm">Exodus 22:21</a>), yet it also acknowledges the practical need for caution in business matters. This balance reflects the biblical call to be both wise and compassionate in our interactions with others.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_one_who_posts_security.htm">The One Who Posts Security</a></b><br>This refers to an individual who guarantees a loan or obligation for another person, often without fully understanding the risk involved.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/s/stranger.htm">Stranger</a></b><br>In the context of ancient Israel, a stranger could be someone outside the immediate community or someone not well-known to the guarantor.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/f/foreigner.htm">Foreigner</a></b><br>This term often refers to someone from outside the Israelite community, highlighting the increased risk and lack of familiarity.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/c/collateral.htm">Collateral</a></b><br>An item of value taken as security to ensure the fulfillment of an obligation or repayment of a loan.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/a/ancient_israelite_society.htm">Ancient Israelite Society</a></b><br>The cultural and legal backdrop of this proverb, where personal responsibility and community trust were highly valued.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/w/wisdom_in_financial_decisions.htm">Wisdom in Financial Decisions</a></b><br>The proverb teaches the importance of exercising wisdom and caution in financial commitments, especially when involving strangers or foreigners.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/u/understanding_risk.htm">Understanding Risk</a></b><br>It highlights the need to understand the risks involved in guaranteeing another's debt and the potential consequences of such actions.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/personal_responsibility.htm">Personal Responsibility</a></b><br>The verse underscores the value of personal responsibility and the importance of making informed decisions to protect oneself and one's resources.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/community_and_trust.htm">Community and Trust</a></b><br>It reflects on the dynamics of trust within a community and the potential pitfalls of extending that trust without due diligence.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/practical_caution.htm">Practical Caution</a></b><br>The proverb serves as a practical reminder to be cautious and prudent in financial dealings, ensuring that one's actions do not lead to personal loss or hardship.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_proverbs_20.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Proverbs 20</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_allow_war_killing_but_forbid_murder.htm">Why does the Bible allow killing in war but forbid murder in the Ten Commandments?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_genesis_27_6-17_permit_lying.htm">Does this account conflict with other biblical passages that condemn lying yet here seem to permit it (Genesis 27:6-17)?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_trust_an_unseen_god_amid_suffering.htm">Proverbs 3:5 urges total trust in God--why entrust ourselves to an unseen deity when much suffering and injustice seem unanswered?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_ecclesiastes_10_2_culturally_biased.htm">Does the association of the wise with the 'right' and fools with the 'left' (Ecclesiastes 10:2) reflect outdated cultural biases, and how does it align with modern moral or ethical views?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/proverbs/20.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(16) <span class= "bld">Take his garment that is surety for a stranger.</span>--Another warning against suretiship. (See above on <a href="/proverbs/6-1.htm" title="My son, if you be surety for your friend, if you have stricken your hand with a stranger,">Proverbs 6:1</a>.) If a man is rash enough to become surety for another, he must suffer for his imprudence, and learn wisdom by feeling the effects of his folly.<p><span class= "bld">And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.</span>--Rather, <span class= "ital">take him as a pledge </span>(seize upon his person who has become surety) <span class= "ital">for a strange woman, </span>(according to the margin) or, <span class= "ital">for strangers </span>(as the text reads).<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/20.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Take his garment that is surety for a stranger.</span> The maxim is repeated in <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Proverbs 27:13</a>; and warnings against suretyship are found in <a href="/proverbs/6-1.htm">Proverbs 6:1</a>, etc.; Proverbs 11:15; 17:18; 22:26, etc. The second portion of the clause is translated also, "For he is surety for another." If a man is so weak and foolish as to become security for any one, and is unable to make good his engaged payment, let him lose his garment which the creditor would seize; his imprudence must bring its own punishment. <span class="cmt_word">And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.</span> The Authorized Version probably adopts this rendering in conformity with <a href="/proverbs/27-13.htm">Proverbs 27:13</a>, where it occurs in the text, as here in the margin (the Keri). But the Khetib has, "for strangers," which seems to be the original reading; and the first words ought to be translated, "hold him in pledge;" <span class="accented">i.e.</span> seize his person for the sake of the strangers for whom he has stood security, so as not to suffer loss from them. The Law endeavoured to secure lending to needy brethren without interest (see <a href="/psalms/15-5.htm">Psalm 15:5</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/18-8.htm">Ezekiel 18:8, 13</a>, etc.; Ezekiel 22:12): but it allowed the creditor to secure himself by taking pledges of his debtor, while it regulated this system so as to obviate most of its severity and oppressiveness (see the restrictions in <a href="/exodus/22-26.htm">Exodus 22:26</a>, etc.; <a href="/deuteronomy/24-6.htm">Deuteronomy 24:6, 12</a>, etc.). "Where the debtor possessed nothing which he could pledge, he gave the personal security of a friend. This was a very formal proceeding. The surety gave his hand both to the debtor and to the creditor before an assembly legally convened, he deposited a pledge, and, in accordance with this twofold promise, was regarded by the creditor in just the same light as the debtor himself, and treated accordingly. If the debtor, or in his place the surety, was unable to pay the debt when it fell due, he was entirely at the mercy of the creditor. The authorities troubled themselves but little about these relations, and the law, so far as it is preserved to us, gave no directions in the matter. We see, however, from many allusions and narratives, what harsh forms these relations actually took, especially in later times, when the ancient national brotherly love which the Law presupposed was more and more dying out. The creditor could not only forcibly appropriate all the movable, but also the fixed property, including the hereditary estate (this at least till its redemption in the year of jubilee), nay, he could even (if he could find nothing else of value) carry off as a prisoner the body of his debtor, or of his wife and child, to employ them in his service, though this could only he done for a definite period" (Ewald, 'Antiquities,' p. 184, etc., transl.). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/proverbs/20-16.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Take</span><br /><span class="heb">לְֽקַח־</span> <span class="translit">(lə·qaḥ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3947.htm">Strong's 3947: </a> </span><span class="str2">To take</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the garment</span><br /><span class="heb">בִּ֭גְדוֹ</span> <span class="translit">(biḡ·ḏōw)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_899.htm">Strong's 899: </a> </span><span class="str2">A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of the one</span><br /><span class="heb">כִּי־</span> <span class="translit">(kî-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunction<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3588.htm">Strong's 3588: </a> </span><span class="str2">A relative conjunction</span><br /><br /><span class="word">who posts security</span><br /><span class="heb">עָ֣רַב</span> <span class="translit">(‘ā·raḇ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6148.htm">Strong's 6148: </a> </span><span class="str2">To braid, intermix, technically, to traffic, give to be security</span><br /><br /><span class="word">for a stranger;</span><br /><span class="heb">זָ֑ר</span> <span class="translit">(zār)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2114.htm">Strong's 2114: </a> </span><span class="str2">To turn aside, to be a, foreigner, strange, profane, to commit adultery</span><br /><br /><span class="word">get collateral</span><br /><span class="heb">חַבְלֵֽהוּ׃</span> <span class="translit">(ḥaḇ·lê·hū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2254.htm">Strong's 2254: </a> </span><span class="str2">To wind tightly, to bind, a pledge, to pervert, destroy, to writhe in pain</span><br /><br /><span class="word">if it is for</span><br /><span class="heb">וּבְעַ֖ד</span> <span class="translit">(ū·ḇə·‘aḏ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1157.htm">Strong's 1157: </a> </span><span class="str2">In up to, over against, at, beside, among, behind, for</span><br /><br /><span class="word">a wayward woman.</span><br /><span class="heb">נָכְרִיָּ֣ה</span> <span class="translit">(nā·ḵə·rî·yāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5237.htm">Strong's 5237: </a> </span><span class="str2">Foreign, alien</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/proverbs/20-16.htm">Proverbs 20:16 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/proverbs/20-16.htm">OT Poetry: Proverbs 20:16 Take the garment of one who puts (Prov. Pro Pr) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/proverbs/20-15.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Proverbs 20:15"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Proverbs 20:15" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/proverbs/20-17.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Proverbs 20:17"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Proverbs 20:17" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>