Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou enuious against euill men, neither desire to be with them.
Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
2 For their heart imagineth destruction, and their lippes speake mischiefe.
For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
3 Through wisdome is an house builded, and with vnderstanding it is established.
By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
4 And by knowledge shall the chambers bee filled with all precious, and pleasant riches.
And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 A wise man is strong: for a man of vnderstanding encreaseth his strength.
Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 For with counsel thou shalt enterprise thy warre, and in the multitude of them that can giue counsell, is health.
For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
7 Wisdome is hie to a foole: therefore he can not open his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
8 Hee that imagineth to doe euill, men shall call him an autour of wickednes.
Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
9 The wicked thought of a foole is sinne, and the scorner is an abomination vnto men.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
10 If thou bee faint in the day of aduersitie, thy strength is small.
Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
11 Deliuer them that are drawen to death: wilt thou not preserue them that are led to be slaine?
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
12 If thou say, Beholde, we knew not of it: he that pondereth the heartes, doeth not hee vnderstand it? and hee that keepeth thy soule, knoweth he it not? will not he also recompense euery man according to his workes?
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 sonne, eate hony, for it is good, and the hony combe, for it is sweete vnto thy mouth.
Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdome be vnto thy soule, if thou finde it, and there shall be an ende, and thine hope shall not be cut off.
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 Laye no waite, O wicked man, against the house of the righteous, and spoyle not his resting place.
Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
16 For a iust man falleth seuen times, and riseth againe: but the wicked fall into mischiefe.
For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 Bee thou not glad when thine enemie falleth, and let not thine heart reioyce when hee stumbleth,
In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
18 Least the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turne his wrath from him.
Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
19 Fret not thy selfe because of the malicious, neither be enuious at the wicked.
Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
20 For there shall bee none ende of plagues to the euill man: the light of the wicked shall bee put out.
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 My sonne feare the Lord, and the King, and meddle not with them that are sedicious.
Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
22 For their destruction shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruine of them both?
For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
23 ALSO THESE THINGS PERTEINE TO THE WISE, It is not good to haue respect of any person in iudgement.
These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
24 He that saith to the wicked, Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, and the multitude shall abhorre him.
Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
25 But to them that rebuke him, shall be pleasure, and vpon them shall come the blessing of goodnesse.
And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
26 They shall kisse the lippes of him that answereth vpright wordes.
Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
27 Prepare thy worke without, and make readie thy thinges in the fielde, and after, builde thine house.
Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field — go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
28 Be not a witnes against thy neighbour without cause: for wilt thou deceiue with thy lippes?
Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
29 Say not, I wil doe to him, as he hath done to mee, I will recompence euery man according to his worke.
Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
30 I passed by the fielde of the slouthfull, and by the vineyarde of the man destitute of vnderstanding.
Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 And lo, it was al growen ouer with thornes, and nettles had couered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken downe.
And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
32 Then I behelde, and I considered it well: I looked vpon it, and receiued instruction.
And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
33 Yet a litle sleepe, a litle slumber, a litle folding of the handes to sleepe.
A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 So thy pouertie commeth as one that traueileth by the way, and thy necessitie like an armed man.
And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
