Bible Strands
Proverbs 22:26
Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses a listener in a wisdom context, placing this instruction immediately after a warning against associating with hot-tempered men.
The words — The Hebrew phrase תֹקְעֵי כָּף (tokei kaf) literally means "those who strike palms," describing the physical gesture of sealing a financial guarantee.
The thread — This prohibition echoes in Proverbs 6:1, 11:15, and 17:18, which similarly warn against striking hands in pledge or standing surety for others.
Why it lands — The text commands readers to refuse guaranteeing another person's debts, emphasizing the direct risk of forfeiting one's own basic necessities.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 11:15 He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.
- Proverbs 6:1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,
- Proverbs 17:18 A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.
- Proverbs 27:13 Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.