Proverbs 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
2 For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
4 And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.
5 The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
6 For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.
8 Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
10 You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
12 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.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
13 My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
14 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.
Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.
15 Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
16 For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
17 Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.
19 Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
21 Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
22 For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
23 These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
25 And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
26 He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
31 And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.
32 And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
33 A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
