Proverbs 24
1 Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:
Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
2 Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak deceits.
For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
3 By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be strengthened.
A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
4 By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious and most beautiful wealth.
And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.
The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety where there are many counsels.
For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool, in the gate he shall not open his mouth.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.
Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
9 The thought of a fool is sin: and the detracter is the abomination of men.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
10 If thou lose hope being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.
You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
11 Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death forbear not to deliver.
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
12 If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.
When you say, “Behold, we did not know this.” Is the Ponderer of hearts not He who understands? And the Keeper of your soul He who knows? And He has rendered to man according to his work.
13 Fat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat:
My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
14 So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not perish.
So [is] the knowledge of wisdom to your soul, If you have found that there is a posterity And your hope is not cut off.
15 Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.
Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
16 For a just mall shall fall seven times and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil.
For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not thy heart rejoice:
Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
18 Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
19 Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly:
Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
20 For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king: and have nothing to do with detracters.
Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
22 For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the ruin of both?
For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
23 These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment.
These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
24 They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.
Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
25 They that rebuke him, shall be praised: and a blessing shall come upon them.
And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
26 He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.
He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
27 Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house.
Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
28 Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.
Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
29 Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to every one according to his work.
Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man:
I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.
And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
32 Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction.
And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
33 Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest:
A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.
And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
