Proverbs 22:26 (GNV)

Passage

Be not thou of them that touch the hand, nor among them that are suretie for debts.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:24 Make no friendship with an angrie man, neither goe with the furious man,

Proverbs 22:25 Least thou learne his wayes, and receiue destruction to thy soule.

Proverbs 22:26 Be not thou of them that touch the hand, nor among them that are suretie for debts.

Proverbs 22:27 If thou hast nothing to paye, why causest thou that he should take thy bed from vnder thee?

Proverbs 22:28 Thou shalt not remooue the ancient bounds which thy fathers haue made.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "touch", "hand", "suretie", and "debts". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "touch", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "Least thou learne his wayes and receiue..." into verse 27's "If thou hast nothing to paye why...", so "thou" and "touch" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "touch" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.