Proverbs 27:13

Proverbs 27:13, in plain English

If someone promises to pay back a loan for a stranger, get collateral from him—don't just take his word, because he's taken a serious risk.

Why it's here

You're in a financial world where promises get broken. Someone who'll guarantee a stranger's debt is either very trusting or very foolish. Either way, protect yourself by insisting on something of value as security. It's practical wisdom about money and trust.

Who's speaking

Someone experienced in business and lending, teaching caution about financial commitments.

Where it sits in the story

Proverbs repeatedly warns about getting entangled in other people's debts and about the danger of empty promises. The Bible takes financial responsibility seriously and invites wisdom about where you put your trust and security.

The scholarly reading

If someone guarantees a debt for a stranger, seize their clothing as collateral—this protects you should the stranger default on the obligation.

Language and setting

The Hebrew practice of taking a garment as pledge (חָבַל, chabal) was a recognized legal mechanism; Deuteronomy 24:10-13 regulated this practice with humanitarian limits. This verse advises taking such collateral immediately when someone posts security (עָרַב, arab—to pledge oneself as guarantor) for a foreigner (נָכְרִי, nokri—one outside the community with whom you have no pre-existing relationship). The reasoning is clear: such guarantees carry higher risk because the stranger has no reputation in your community to protect. The verse thus combines practical wisdom about managing risk with the ancient legal system's built-in protections.

Voice

The wisdom teacher, instructing on financial prudence and the management of risk in transactions.

Significance

This locates itself within the broader biblical framework of protecting the vulnerable while maintaining just dealing. The practice it describes appears throughout Scripture and was regulated to prevent abuse—wisdom here means taking available legal protections seriously, understanding that the community's systems of collateral exist precisely because simple trust is sometimes insufficient.

11Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, so that I can answer him who taunts me.

12The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

13Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

14If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.

15A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—

Read all of Proverbs 27 — As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Faithful wounds from a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy.