Proverbs 24
1 Don't be jealous of evil people; don't long to spend time with them,
Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
2 for they think up cruel plans and discuss how to cause trouble.
For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
3 A house is built by wisdom; its foundation is made secure through understanding.
By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
4 Its rooms are filled by knowledge with all kinds of valuable and beautiful objects.
And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 If you have wisdom, you are strong; if you have knowledge, your power increases,
Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 for with wise guidance you can go to war; you will be victorious by having many good advisors.
For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
7 Wisdom goes over the heads of stupid people; they have nothing to contribute when important matters are discussed.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
8 Anyone who plans to do evil will be seen as a troublemaker.
Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
9 Plans thought up by stupid people are sinful. Everyone hates those who are scornful of others.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
10 If you give up in times of trouble, it shows how weak you are.
Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
11 Rescue those who are being led away to be executed; save those who are stumbling on their way to be slaughtered.
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
12 If you say, “Look, we didn't know anything about this,” don't you think the God who judges your motives will see what's happening? He who watches over you knows, and he will pay people back for what they've done.
When thou sayest, 'Lo, we knew not this.' Is not the Ponderer of hearts He who understandeth? And the Keeper of thy soul He who knoweth? And He hath rendered to man according to his work.
13 My son, eating honey is good for you; the honeycomb tastes sweet.
Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
14 In the same way, you should know that wisdom is good for you; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
So [is] the knowledge of wisdom to thy soul, If thou hast found that there is a posterity And thy hope is not cut off.
15 Don't be like a criminal waiting to ambush the home of good people; don't attack the place where they live.
Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
16 Those who do right may fall down seven times, and still get up again; but the wicked are brought down by disaster.
For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 Don't celebrate when your enemies fall; don't be glad when they trip up,
In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
18 otherwise when the Lord sees it, he'll be unhappy with you and won't punish your enemies as he planned.
Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
19 Don't get all upset over the wicked, or be jealous of those who do wrong,
Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
20 for evil people have no future—the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 My son, honor the Lord and the king, and don't join those who are rebellious,
Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
22 for disaster will suddenly fall on them. Who knows how the Lord and king will punish them?
For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
23 These are more sayings of the wise: Showing favoritism when passing judgment is wrong.
These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
24 Those who tell the guilty, “You're innocent,” will be cursed by the people and hated by the nation,
Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
25 while those who convict the guilty will be appreciated, and will receive a rich blessing.
And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
26 An honest answer is a kiss on the lips.
Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
27 Do the work you need to do outside first, then prepare and sow your fields, and only after that start building your house.
Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field — go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
28 Don't testify against your neighbors without having a good reason, and don't tell lies.
Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
29 Don't say to yourself, “I'm going to do to him what he did to me! I'll pay him back for what he's done!”
Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
30 I walked past the field of a lazy man, past a vineyard of someone with no sense.
Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 It was all overgrown with thorns, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall had fallen down.
And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
32 As I looked I thought about it, and what I saw taught me a lesson:
And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
33 You may say, “Please, just a little more sleep, a little longer snooze, a little more folding of the arms to rest”—
A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 and poverty will attack you like a robber, destitution like an armed warrior.
And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
