< Proverbs 24 >

1 Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
Be not thou envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2 For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
for their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
Through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established;
4 And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
and by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant substance.
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 increaseth strength.
6 For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
For with good advice shalt thou make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom is too high for a fool: he will not open his mouth in the gate.
8 Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a master of intrigues.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
The purpose of folly is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
[If] thou losest courage in the day of trouble, thy strength is small.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
Deliver them that are taken forth unto death, and withdraw not from them that stagger to 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 thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, will not he that weigheth the hearts consider it? And he that preserveth thy soul, he knoweth it; and he rendereth to man according to his work.
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 a honeycomb is sweet to thy 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 consider wisdom for thy soul; if thou hast found it, there shall be a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the righteous; lay not waste his resting-place.
16 For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
For the righteous falleth seven times, and riseth up again; but the wicked stumble into disaster.
17 Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
18 Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
lest Jehovah see it, and it be evil in his sight, and he turn away his anger from him.
19 Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, [and] be not envious of the wicked:
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
for there shall be no future to the evil [man]; the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
21 Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
My son, fear Jehovah and the king: meddle not with them that are given to change.
22 For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
These things also come from the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him;
25 And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
but to them that rebuke [him] shall be delight, and a good blessing cometh upon them.
26 He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
He kisseth the lips who giveth 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.
Prepare thy work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and wouldest thou deceive with thy lips?
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 so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to 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 by the field of a sluggard, and by the vineyard of a man void of understanding;
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 lo, it was all grown over with thistles, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
Then I looked, I took it to heart; I saw, I 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!
So shall thy poverty come [as] a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.

< Proverbs 24 >