Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious of wicked men, And desire not to be with them!
Do not be envious of those who are evil, nor desire to associate with them,
2 For their heart studieth destruction, And their lips speak mischief.
because their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about trouble.
3 Through wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding is it established;
Through wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established.
4 Yea, by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and goodly substance.
By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 The wise man is strong; Yea, the man of understanding establisheth his strength.
A warrior of wisdom is strong, and a man of knowledge increases his strength;
6 For by wise counsel shalt thou make war, And by the multitude of counsellors cometh success.
for by wise direction you can wage your war and with many advisors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is too high for the fool; He openeth not his mouth at the gate.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8 He that deviseth to do evil Shall be called mischief-master.
There is one who plans to do evil— people call him a master of schemes.
9 The purpose of folly is sin; And a scoffer is an abomination to men.
A foolish plan is sin and men despise a mocker.
10 If thy spirit faint in the day of adversity, Faint will be thy strength.
If you become weak with fear in the day of trouble, then your strength is small.
11 Deliver thou those who are dragged to death, And those who totter to the slaughter, —O keep them back!
Rescue those who are being taken away to death and hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter.
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.
If you say, “Behold, we knew nothing about this,” does not the one who weighs the heart understand what you are saying? The one who guards your life, does he not know it? Will God not give to each one what he deserves?
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good, And the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste;
My son, eat honey because it is good, because the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
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.
Such is wisdom for your soul— if you find it, there will be a future and your hope will 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 like the wicked person who attacks the house of the righteous person. Do not destroy his home!
16 For though the righteous fall seven times, yet shall he rise up again; But the wicked shall fall into mischief.
For the righteous person falls down seven times and rises again, but wicked people are brought down by calamity.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
Do not celebrate when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 Lest the LORD see, and it displease him, And he turn away his anger from him.
or Yahweh will see and disapprove and turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself on account of evil men, Neither be thou envious of the wicked;
Do not worry because of evildoers, and do not envy wicked people,
20 For there shall be no posterity to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
for the evil person has no future and the lamp of wicked people will go out.
21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king; And mingle not with them that are given to change!
Fear Yahweh, and fear the king, my son; do not associate with those who rebel against them,
22 For their calamity shall rise up suddenly, And their ruin, coming from them both, in a moment.
for suddenly their disaster will come and who knows the extent of the destruction that will come from both of them?
23 These also are words of the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging a case at law is not good.
24 He that saith to the wicked, “Thou art righteous,” Him shall the people curse; Nations shall abhor him.
Whoever says to the wicked person, “You are a righteous person,” will be cursed by peoples and hated by nations.
25 But it shall be well with them that punish him, And the blessing of prosperity shall come upon them.
But those who discipline the wicked will have delight and gifts of goodness will come to them.
26 He that giveth a right answer Kisseth the lips.
The one who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips.
27 Arrange thy work without, And prepare it in thy field: Afterwards thou mayst build thy house.
Prepare your outdoor work, and make everything ready for yourself in the field; after that, build your house.
28 Be not a witness without cause against thy neighbor, And deceive not with thy lips.
Do not bear witness against your neighbor without cause and do not deceive with your 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, “I will do to him what he has done to me; I will pay him back for what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding,
I went by the field of a lazy man, past the vineyard of the man having no 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.
Thorns had grown up everywhere, the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it. and received instruction.
Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.
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.
and poverty comes marching upon you, and your needs like an armed soldier.
