Proverbs 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
[Ne æmuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis:
2 For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.
3 A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
Sapientia ædificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.
4 And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.
5 The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
Vir sapiens fortis est, et vir doctus robustus et validus:
6 For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
quia cum dispositione initur bellum, et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
Excelsa stulto sapientia; in porta non aperiet os suum.
8 Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
Qui cogitat mala facere stultus vocabitur:
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
cogitatio stulti peccatum est, et abominatio hominum detractor.
10 You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
Si desperaveris lassus in die angustiæ, imminuetur fortitudo tua.]
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
[Erue eos qui ducuntur ad mortem, et qui trahuntur ad interitum, liberare ne cesses.
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.
Si dixeris: Vires non suppetunt; qui inspector est cordis ipse intelligit: et servatorem animæ tuæ nihil fallit, reddetque homini juxta opera sua.
13 My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo.
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.
Sic et doctrina sapientiæ animæ tuæ: quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.
15 Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
Ne insidieris, et quæras impietatem in domo justi, neque vastes requiem ejus.
16 For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
Septies enim cadet justus, et resurget: impii autem corruent in malum.
17 Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus ne gaudeas, et in ruina ejus ne exsultet cor tuum:
18 Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.
19 Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec æmuleris impios:
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.
21 Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem, et cum detractoribus non commiscearis:
22 For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum, et ruinam utriusque quis novit?]
23 These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
Hæc quoque sapientibus. [Cognoscere personam in judicio non est bonum.
24 Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
Qui dicunt impio: Justus es: maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.
25 And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
Qui arguunt eum laudabuntur, et super ipsos veniet benedictio.
26 He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
Labia deosculabitur qui recta verba respondet.
27 Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
Præpara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum, ut postea ædifices domum tuam.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum, nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.
29 Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
Ne dicas: Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei; reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.]
30 I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
[Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti:
31 And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
et ecce totum repleverant urticæ, et operuerant superficiem ejus spinæ, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.
32 And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.
33 A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis; pauxillum manus conseres ut quiescas:
34 And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.]
