Proverbs 27:13 · Bible study
Proverbs 27:13 Commentary: The Cost of Surety for a Stranger
Hebrew · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegesis of Proverbs 27:13: the warning against co-signing for a stranger or foreign woman, its grammar, context, and wisdom for faithful stewardship.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Seize the garment of anyone foolish enough to co‑sign for a stranger or a foreign woman; it is the only way to protect yourself from loss.
- Key words: ʿārav (surety), zar (stranger), nokhriyah (foreign woman), chavlehu (hold in pledge).
- Main debate: Whether “foreign woman” refers to an actual woman or is a metaphor for a risky affair; the parallel in 20:16 uses “wayward woman,” supporting the literal reading.
- Theological theme: Stewardship and wise restraint; God honours prudence in financial matters.
- Best use: A straightforward warning against unwise financial entanglements, applicable to co‑signing and lending without proper security.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
KJV King James Version 1769
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for a foreign woman.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Take his garment, when a stranger hath been surety, And for a strange woman pledge it.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Take his garment that is become surety [for] another, and hold him in pledge for a strange woman.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Take away his garment that hath been surety for a stranger: and take from him a pledge for strangers.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Quítale su ropa al que fió al extraño; y al que fió á la extraña, tómale prenda.
Toma a roupa daquele que fica por fiador de estranho; toma penhor daquele que fica por fiador da estranha.
Prends son vêtement, car il a cautionné autrui;
Nimm dem sein Kleid, der für einen andern Bürge wird, und pfände ihn um der Fremden willen.
Als iemand voor een vreemde borg geworden is, neem zijn kleed, en pand hem voor een onbekende vrouw.
Prendigli il vestito giacché ha fatto cauzione per altri; fatti dare dei pegni, poiché s’è reso garante di stranieri.
Weźmij szatę tego, któryć ręczył za obcego; a od tego, który ręczył za cudzoziemkę, weźmij zastaw jego.
Возьми у него платье его, потому что он поручился за чужого, и за стороннего возьми от него залог.
誰為生人 作保，就拿 誰的衣服；誰為 外女 作保，誰就承當。
Take a man's clothing if he makes himself responsible for a strange man, and get an undertaking from him who gives his word for strange men.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Proverbs 27:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Proverbs 27:13, nearly identical to 20:16, is a stern warning against the financial ruin that comes from standing surety for a stranger or a foreign woman. Matthew Henry describes such persons as “hastening to poverty,” and the command to take the garment is understood as a drastic but prudent step to secure what little can be recovered. Keil and Delitzsch note the alliteration in the Hebrew between ʿārav (surety) and ʿārôm (naked): the one who goes surety may end up without his garment. The Geneva Bible and Gill simply cross-reference the earlier proverb, confirming the repetition is deliberate. The consensus is that the verse teaches the severe consequences of financial entanglements with unreliable people and the necessity of protecting oneself from loss.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal command: The plain reading and clear parallel to 20:16 suggest this is a real instruction to seize collateral.
- Hyperbolic warning: The extreme language discourages surety altogether by illustrating its worst outcome.
- Contextual application: The adjacent verses about contentious women and friends imply the advice is directed at specific relational entanglements.
What is clear: The verse condemns reckless financial surety with strangers or untrustworthy persons, and it instructs the lender to protect himself from loss.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The identity of the 'foreign woman' | The term <em>nokhriyah</em> refers to someone outside the community, often associated with danger. | Some read it as a literal foreign woman (or adulteress) whose seduction leads to debt; K&D suggest the neuter 'foreign matter' based on LXX and some manuscripts. |
| The severity of the command | The verse instructs the lender to take decisive action to secure collateral. | Whether this is meant as a literal command to seize a garment or a hyperbolic warning to avoid surety altogether. |
| Relationship to Proverbs 20:16 | This verse is a nearly verbatim repetition of 20:16. | Does the repetition stress the same lesson, or does the context add a new nuance (e.g., the surrounding verses on contentious relationships)? |
| Garment as collateral in ancient law | The garment was a common pledge, and the law required its return by nightfall (Exod 22:26). | Whether this proverb intends to override that compassionate law in extreme cases of foolishness, or whether the command is restricted to the moment of default. |
Historical & Cultural Context
In ancient Israel, a person’s garment served as common collateral for a loan (Exodus 22:26). The law required that a cloak taken as a pledge be returned by sunset, because it often doubled as bedding. To strip someone of his garment was to take his basic security. Proverbs 27:13 commands the lender to do exactly that when the borrower has co-signed for a stranger (zar) or a foreign woman (nokhriyah).
The “stranger” could be anyone outside one’s clan, implying a risky guarantee. The “foreign woman” likely refers to an adulteress or a foreigner who would leave the guarantor with the debt (cf. Proverbs 2:16, 19; 6:24, 26). Keil and Delitzsch note that the word nokhriyah can be read as neuter (“a foreign matter”), though the feminine form suggests a woman. In either case, the person being guaranteed is untrustworthy.
Literarily, this proverb sits among warnings about self‑praise, jealousy, and the value of faithful friends (Proverbs 27:1, 17). The sharp command to seize the garment shows that financial irresponsibility is not just unwise, it threatens the community’s resources. The repetition of the same saying in 20:16 emphasizes its importance: wisdom protects against preventable loss.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Proverbs 27:13. The verse matches Proverbs 20:16 almost exactly, with the same vocabulary and syntax across all major manuscripts and versions. Keil and Delitzsch mention the alternative reading of nokhriyah as neuter in the LXX, but the Masoretic text consistently presents the feminine form.
Reception History
Proverbs 27:13 has been read consistently as a practical warning against financial rashness. Jewish commentators like Rashi connected it to the laws of surety in the Mishnah. During the Reformation, Matthew Henry and the Geneva Bible took the verse literally, applying it to daily commerce. In more recent centuries, Keil and Delitzsch emphasized the poetic device of alliteration to drive the point home. The repetition of the same proverb in chapter 20 has led interpreters to treat it as a fixed saying, independent of its immediate literary context. No major tradition has allegorized it away from its straightforward economic meaning.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The danger of surety for strangers. Co‑signing for someone you do not know or trust is a quick path to poverty. The “stranger” and “foreign woman” represent people with no stake in your wellbeing.
- The harsh command. “Take his garment” is not cruel; it is the only way to recover anything from a reckless borrower. The law itself protected the poor from losing everything (Exod 22:26), but here the borrower has brought the loss on himself.
- The deeper lesson. Wisdom in relationships includes financial caution. Generosity is not the same as foolishness. The verse teaches us to weigh risk carefully and to guard what God has entrusted to us.
Five-point outline
- The repetition of Proverbs 20:16 signals a core principle in wisdom literature.
- The garment as collateral was a familiar practice, highlighting the seriousness of the transaction.
- The “foreign woman” likely points to sexual or cultural entanglements that lead to ruin.
- The command presupposes that the lender has a right to secure his own investment.
- The proverb closes with a vivid picture of personal responsibility: the consequences of folly are not to be softened.
Illustration hooks
- Co‑signing a loan for a distant cousin whose spending habits you do not know.
- Lending money to a colleague who then changes jobs and disappears.
- Agreeing to cover a stranger’s rent because they seem desperate, only to be left with the bill.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it ever okay to co‑sign a loan for a family member?
- How do I balance being generous with being wise about my finances?
- What should I do if I have already made a risky financial promise?
Leading a Discussion
This small-group study focuses on Proverbs 27:13. Begin by reading the verse aloud, noting its parallel to Proverbs 20:16. Ask the group to consider why this warning appears twice. Move through the following questions to explore the text and its application.
Discussion questions
- What does the verse literally command the lender to do? Notice the imperative verbs.
- Why is the garment specifically mentioned? What would it mean for a borrower to lose his garment?
- Who are the “stranger” and the “foreign woman” in the context of ancient Israel? How do they represent heightened risk?
- How does this proverb connect with other biblical passages about suretyship, such as Proverbs 6:1, 5 and 22:26, 27?
- In what ways do we see “suretyship” in modern life? Are there any situations where co‑signing is wise or unwise?
- What does this verse reveal about God’s concern for financial justice and prudence?
- How can this proverb guide our decisions about helping others without enabling irresponsibility?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 22:26 | If you take your neighbor’s garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, |
| Proverbs 6:1 | My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger, |
| Proverbs 6:4 | Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. |
| Proverbs 20:16 | Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman. |
| Proverbs 22:26 | Don’t you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts. |
| Proverbs 22:27 | If you don’t have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you? |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
5 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that this verse is a direct parallel to an earlier proverb. He treats the two passages as identical in meaning and application, so the same caution about surety applies here.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes says one should take the garment as security for a stranger. This shows helping strangers is important. Your trust in God gives you strength.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that this proverb appears twice in the book of Proverbs with exactly the same wording. He directs the reader to his comments on the earlier passage for a fuller explanation of what it means to take a pledge from someone who guarantees a stranger or a foreign woman.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch points out the wordplay between "arom" and "arev" in the original. They note that "strange matter" can also mean a strange woman, describing a scenario where a man becomes surety for a seductive foreigner who then abandons him with the debts he incurred to win her favor.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry warns that two kinds of people rush into poverty: those who cosign for strangers and those given to women. He advises not to lend money to anyone wasting their estate unless they offer solid security, because a habitual voucher will only have insolvent sureties.