Proverbs 24
1 Be thou not envious of bad men, and do not long to be with them.
Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
2 For their heart meditateth destruction, and of mischief do their lips speak.
For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
3 Through wisdom is a house built; and through understanding is it firmly established;
By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
4 And through knowledge are chambers filled with all manner of precious and pleasant wealth.
And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 A wise man is [always] in power; and a man of knowledge fortifieth [his] strength.
Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 For by wise counsel canst thou conduct thy war; and there is help in a multitude of counsellors.
For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: in the gate can he not open his mouth.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
8 Him that deviseth to do evil, men call a master of wicked devices.
Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
9 The counsel of folly is sin; and an abomination to men is the scorner.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
10 If thou despond on the day of distress, thy strength is small.
Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
11 Deliver those that are taken unto death, and those that are moved away to the slaughter hold back.
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
12 If thou shouldst say, Behold, we know not this man: lo, he that weigheth hearts will truly regard it, and he that keepeth thy soul will surely know it; and he will give a recompense to man according to his doing.
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 Eat honey, my son, because it is good; and the fine honey, which is sweet to thy palate:
Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
14 So obtain the knowledge of wisdom for thy soul: when thou hast found her, then shall there be a [happy] future, and thy 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 Lie not in wait, O wicked man! against the dwelling of the righteous; waste not his resting-place;
Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
16 For though the righteous were to fall seven times, he will rise up again; but the wicked shall stumble into misfortune.
For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 At the fall of thy enemy do not rejoice; and at his stumbling let not thy heart be glad:
In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
18 Lest the Lord see it and it be displeasing in his eyes, and he turn away from him his wrath.
Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
19 Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious of the wicked;
Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
20 For there will be no [happy] future for the bad man: the lamp of the wicked will be quenched.
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: with those that are desirous to change do not mingle thyself;
Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
22 For suddenly will their calamity arise; and who knoweth the ruin of both of them!
For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
23 These things also are for the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
24 Him that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, will the people denounce, him will nations hold accursed;
Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
25 But to those that punish delight shall be given, and upon them shall come the blessing of the good.
And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
26 Men will kiss the lips of him that giveth a proper answer.
Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
27 Prepare without thy work, and make it fit in the field for thyself: and afterward build thy 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 without cause a witness against thy neighbor; for wouldst thou beguile with thy lips?
Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
29 Say not, As he hath done to me so will I do to him: I will recompense every man according to his doing.
Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
30 By the field of a slothful man I once passed along, and by the vineyard of a man void of sense:
Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, nettles had covered its surface, and its stone-wall was broken 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 And when I had indeed beheld [this] I took it to my heart: I saw it, and received a warning.
And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
33 “A little [more] sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands in lying down;”
A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 But then will thy poverty come like a rover; and thy wants as a man armed with a shield.
And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
