Proverbs 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
Have no envy for evil men, or any desire to be with them:
2 For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
For the purposes of their hearts are destruction, and their lips are talking of trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
The building of a house is by wisdom, and by reason it is made strong:
4 And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
And by knowledge its rooms are full of all dear and pleasing things.
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 makes strength greater.
6 For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
For by wise guiding you will overcome in war: and in a number of wise guides there is salvation.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom is outside the power of the foolish: he keeps his mouth shut in the public place.
8 Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
He whose purposes are bad will be named a man of evil designs.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
The purpose of the foolish is sin: and the hater of authority is disgusting to others.
10 You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
If you give way in the day of trouble, your strength is small.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
Be the saviour of those who are given up to death, and do not keep back help from those who are slipping to destruction.
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, See, we had no knowledge of this: does not the tester of hearts give thought to it? and he who keeps your soul, has he no knowledge of it? and will he not give to every man the reward of his work?
13 My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
My son, take honey, for it is good; and the flowing honey, which 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.
So let your desire be for wisdom: if you have it, there will be a future, and your hope will not 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 keep a secret watch, O evil-doer, against the fields of the upright man, or send destruction on his resting-place:
16 For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
For an upright man, after falling seven times, will get up again: but trouble is the downfall of the evil.
17 Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
Do not be glad at the fall of your hater, and let not your heart have joy at his downfall:
18 Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
For fear that the Lord may see it, and it may be evil in his eyes, and his wrath may be turned away from him.
19 Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
Do not be troubled because of evil-doers, or have envy of sinners:
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
For there will be no future for the evil man; the light of sinners will be put out.
21 Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions:
22 For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
For their downfall will come suddenly; and who has knowledge of the destruction of those in high positions?
23 These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
These are more sayings of the wise: To have respect for a person's position when judging is not good.
24 Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
He who says to the evil-doer, You are upright, will be cursed by peoples and hated by nations.
25 And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
But those who say sharp words to him will have delight, and a blessing of good will come on them.
26 He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
He gives a kiss with his lips who gives a right answer.
27 Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
Put your work in order outside, and make it ready in the field; and after that, see to the building of your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
Do not be a violent witness against your neighbour, or let your lips say what is false.
29 Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
Say not, I will do to him as he has done to me; I will give the man the reward of his work.
30 I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
I went by the field of the hater of work, and by the vine-garden of the man without sense;
31 And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
And it was all full of thorns, and covered with waste plants, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
Then looking at it, I gave thought: I saw, and I got teaching from it.
33 A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
A little sleep, a little rest, a little folding of the hands in sleep:
34 And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
So loss will come on you like an outlaw, and your need like an armed man.
