What does Proverbs 6:2 mean?

What should a person do if he has given his word that he will back up another person's loan, then realizes the situation is unreasonable? Solomon addresses this situation. The general context of Proverbs suggests the problem here is involvement in excessive interest rates, or in supporting a borrower who is unreliable. The text doesn't absolutely condemn all forms of cosigning.

Friends or parents may find themselves in similar situations today. For example, cosigning a loan for a car or tuition, only to find later that the one who borrowed cannot make the payments. Or a person may cosign a loan only to find later that the other person has defaulted on the loan. Stuck with a high-interest loan, the cosigner is charged with the responsibility to make the payments, and he regrets having pledged to back the loan. They are "caught" by the words they spoke in agreeing to the loan, even though the lack of payment is not their fault.

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" is famous advice the character Polonius gave to his son in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Scripture, however, does not forbid lending or borrowing; it forbids only the evil practice of imposing exorbitant interest, as well as unwise borrowing.