11:15

This proverb contrasts the bad consequences of guaranteeing another person’s loan with the good consequences of refusing to do so. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

15a
He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,

15b but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.

The phrases “puts up security” and “indebtedness” both refer to guaranteeing another person’s loan. See the notes on 6:1a–b and 6:1b, where the same terms occur and the Berean Standard Bible translates the second term as “struck hands in pledge.”

11:15a

He who puts up security for a stranger: The phrase puts up security means “promises to pay a loan if the borrower cannot repay it.” The word stranger is the same word that was used in 6:1b. It refers to anyone who is not a family member, so this person is probably not well known.

will surely suffer: In Hebrew, this phrase can refer to physical suffering or injury. Here it probably refers to undergoing trouble or hardship as a result of having to pay another person’s debt. Some other ways to translate the meaning of this line are:

Whoever guarantees a stranger’s loan will get into trouble (God’s Word)
-or-
If you promise to pay a stranger’s debt, you will regret it. (Good News Translation)
-or-
It’s a dangerous thing to guarantee payment for someone’s debts. (Contemporary English Version)

11:15b

the one who hates indebtedness: In this context, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as indebtedness means to clap or strike hands together. People did this to conclude a legal or financial agreement. Shaking hands has a similar function in many cultures today. Another way to translate this is:

whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge (New International Version)

This expression does not refer to borrowing for oneself, but to guaranteeing a loan that another person has received. See the note on 6:1b for further ways to translate this action.

is secure: These words imply that a person who does not guarantee others’ loans is secure from the trouble or hardship that would happen to him if he had to pay someone else’s debt. Some other ways to translate this line are:

It is safer to avoid such promises. (New Century Version)
-or-
You are better off if you don’t get involved. (Good News Translation)
-or-
it is better to refuse than to suffer later (New Living Translation (1996))

Notice that these versions have not kept the gesture of striking hands. They have translated the meaning directly. You will need to decide whether or not to keep the gesture in your translation.

General Comment on 11:15a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine the parallel ideas in these lines, especially if you translate the meaning directly. For example:

It’s a dangerous thing to guarantee payment for someone’s debts. Don’t do it! (Contemporary English Version)

These proverbs are intended as advice, so consider translating at least part of this verse with “you” pronouns. For example:

If you promise to be the guarantor for the debt of a person you do not know, you will certainly have bad consequences. So don’t make such agreements. Avoid the trouble.

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