Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors [there is] safety.
Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
7 Wisdom [is] too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9 The thought of foolishness [is] sin: and the scorner [is] an abomination to men.
It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
10 [If] thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength [is] small.
If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
11 If thou forbear to deliver [them that are] drawn unto death, and [those that are] ready to be slain;
[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every] man according to his works?
If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
13 My son, eat thou honey, because [it is] good; and the honeycomb, [which is] sweet to thy taste:
My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
14 So [shall] the knowledge of wisdom [be] unto thy soul: when thou hast found [it], then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
15 Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
16 For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
[Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
18 Lest the LORD see [it], and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
19 Fret not thyself because of evil [men], neither be thou envious at the wicked;
Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
20 For there shall be no reward to the evil [man; ] the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: [and] meddle not with them that are given to change:
My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
23 These [things] also [belong] to the wise. [It is] not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou [art] righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
25 But to them that rebuke [him] shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
26 [Every man] shall kiss [his] lips that giveth a right answer.
Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive [not] with thy lips.
[In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, [and] nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).
32 Then I saw, [and] considered [it] well: I looked upon [it, and] received instruction.
When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33 [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34 So shall thy poverty come [as] one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
[soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
