Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious of wicked men, And desire not to be with them!
Be not thou envious of wicked men, neither crave to be with them;
2 For their heart studieth destruction, And their lips speak mischief.
For, violence, their heart muttereth, and, mischief, their lips do speak.
3 Through wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding is it established;
In wisdom, is a house builded, and, in understanding, is it established;
4 Yea, by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and goodly substance.
And, in knowledge, chambers are filled, with all acquisitions, costly and fair.
5 The wise man is strong; Yea, the man of understanding establisheth his strength.
A wise man, is mighty, and, a man of knowledge, becometh alert in vigour.
6 For by wise counsel shalt thou make war, And by the multitude of counsellors cometh success.
Surely, with concerted measures, shalt thou make for thyself war, and, success, lieth in the greatness of the counsellor.
7 Wisdom is too high for the fool; He openeth not his mouth at the gate.
Unattainable to a foolish man, are the dictates of wisdom, in the gate, he openeth not his mouth.
8 He that deviseth to do evil Shall be called mischief-master.
He that deviseth to do mischief, him, shall men call, a master of plots.
9 The purpose of folly is sin; And a scoffer is an abomination to men.
The purpose of folly, is sin, and, an abomination to mankind, is a buffoon.
10 If thy spirit faint in the day of adversity, Faint will be thy strength.
Thou hast been slothful in the day of straitness, Strait, is thy strength.
11 Deliver thou those who are dragged to death, And those who totter to the slaughter, —O keep them back!
Deliver thou such as are being led forth to death, and, them who are tottering to slaughter, oh that thou wouldst hold back!
12 If thou sayst, “Behold, we knew it not!” Doth not he that weigheth the heart observe it? Yea, he that keepeth thy soul knoweth it. And he will render to every man according to his works.
Though thou say, Lo! we knew not this, Shall not, he that proveth hearts, himself, discern? And, he that formeth thy soul, himself, know? and bring back to a son of earth according to his deed?
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good, And the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste;
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, —and droppings from the comb [because they are] sweet to thy palate:
14 So learn thou wisdom for thy soul! When thou hast found it, there shall be a reward, And thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Thus, take knowledge of wisdom, for thine own soul; If thou find it, then there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
15 Plot not, O wicked man! against the habitation of the righteous; Spoil not his resting-place!
Do not lie in wait, thou lawless man, against the home of the righteous, —neither destroy thou his place of rest;
16 For though the righteous fall seven times, yet shall he rise up again; But the wicked shall fall into mischief.
For, seven times, may the righteous fall and yet arise, but, lawless men, shall stumble into calamity.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
When thine enemy falleth, do not thou rejoice, and, when he stumbleth, let not thy heart exult:
18 Lest the LORD see, and it displease him, And he turn away his anger from him.
Lest Yahweh see it, and it be wicked in his eyes, and he turn away from him his anger.
19 Fret not thyself on account of evil men, Neither be thou envious of the wicked;
Burn not with vexation against evil doers, be not envious of lawless men;
20 For there shall be no posterity to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
For there shall be no future for the wicked, The lamp of the lawless, shall go out.
21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king; And mingle not with them that are given to change!
Revere thou Yahweh, my son, and the king, and, with the fickle, have thou no fellowship;
22 For their calamity shall rise up suddenly, And their ruin, coming from them both, in a moment.
For, suddenly, shall arise their calamity; and, the misfortune of their years, who knoweth?
23 These also are words of the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
These things also, concern the wise, To take note of faces in judgment, is not good.
24 He that saith to the wicked, “Thou art righteous,” Him shall the people curse; Nations shall abhor him.
He that saith to the lawless man, Righteous, thou art, peoples shall denounce him, populations shall curse him;
25 But it shall be well with them that punish him, And the blessing of prosperity shall come upon them.
But, to reprovers, one should be pleasant, and, upon them, should come an excellent blessing:
26 He that giveth a right answer Kisseth the lips.
Lips, should one kiss with one who answereth in right words.
27 Arrange thy work without, And prepare it in thy field: Afterwards thou mayst build thy house.
Prepare, in the open, thy work, and make ready, in the field, for thyself, Afterwards, shalt thou build thy house.
28 Be not a witness without cause against thy neighbor, And deceive not with thy lips.
Do not become a needless witness against thy neighbour, so mightest thou open too wide thy lips:
29 Say not, “As he hath done to me, So will I do to him; I will render to the man according to his doings.”
Do not say—According to what he hath done to me, so, will I do to him, I will repay every one according to his work.
30 I passed by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding,
By the field of the sluggard, I passed, and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense;
31 And, lo! it was all overgrown with thorns, And the face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
And lo! there had come up all over it—thorns, there had covered the face thereof—thistles, and, the stone fence thereof, had been thrown down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it. and received instruction.
So I observed it, for myself, I applied my heart, I looked—I accepted correction:
33 “A little sleep, a little slumber! A little folding of the hands to rest!”
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest:
34 So shall poverty come upon thee like a highwayman; Yea, want like an armed man.
So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
