“Be not one of those who give pledges”: The command “Be not one of those . . .” is literally “Don’t be among. . .,” suggesting that “there are people who do it, but don’t you be one of them.” “Those who give pledges” translates the Hebrew idiom “[people who] strike hands,” referring to a gesture used for agreeing to a deal or in particular to pledging yourself to become surety for someone else’s debt (see comments on 6.1 and 17.18). Some languages may have customs or idioms similar to the Hebrew; but for most it will be necessary to translate in terms of the current (legal) practice of the community. One good model is Revised English Bible “Never be one to give guarantees”; another is “Do not put yourself in bond for someone else.” See also Contemporary English Version below.

“Who become surety for debts”: This refers to the same people as in the previous line and is another way of expressing the same meaning. For “become surety” see 6.1. The Hebrew terms are common terms for giving a pledge or surety for a debt or loan. Because this line repeats the meaning of the previous line, some translations combine the two lines; for example, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version “Don’t guarantee to pay someone else’s debt.” A translation that fills in more of the details of the situation says “When another person borrows money, don’t you promise to pay back the loan if he can’t.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .