Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious of wicked men, neither crave to be with them;
Don't be jealous of evil people; don't long to spend time with them,
2 For, violence, their heart muttereth, and, mischief, their lips do speak.
for they think up cruel plans and discuss how to cause trouble.
3 In wisdom, is a house builded, and, in understanding, is it established;
A house is built by wisdom; its foundation is made secure through understanding.
4 And, in knowledge, chambers are filled, with all acquisitions, costly and fair.
Its rooms are filled by knowledge with all kinds of valuable and beautiful objects.
5 A wise man, is mighty, and, a man of knowledge, becometh alert in vigour.
If you have wisdom, you are strong; if you have knowledge, your power increases,
6 Surely, with concerted measures, shalt thou make for thyself war, and, success, lieth in the greatness of the counsellor.
for with wise guidance you can go to war; you will be victorious by having many good advisors.
7 Unattainable to a foolish man, are the dictates of wisdom, in the gate, he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom goes over the heads of stupid people; they have nothing to contribute when important matters are discussed.
8 He that deviseth to do mischief, him, shall men call, a master of plots.
Anyone who plans to do evil will be seen as a troublemaker.
9 The purpose of folly, is sin, and, an abomination to mankind, is a buffoon.
Plans thought up by stupid people are sinful. Everyone hates those who are scornful of others.
10 Thou hast been slothful in the day of straitness, Strait, is thy strength.
If you give up in times of trouble, it shows how weak you are.
11 Deliver thou such as are being led forth to death, and, them who are tottering to slaughter, oh that thou wouldst hold back!
Rescue those who are being led away to be executed; save those who are stumbling on their way to be slaughtered.
12 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?
If you say, “Look, we didn't know anything about this,” don't you think the God who judges your motives will see what's happening? He who watches over you knows, and he will pay people back for what they've done.
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, —and droppings from the comb [because they are] sweet to thy palate:
My son, eating honey is good for you; the honeycomb tastes sweet.
14 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.
In the same way, you should know that wisdom is good for you; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
15 Do not lie in wait, thou lawless man, against the home of the righteous, —neither destroy thou his place of rest;
Don't be like a criminal waiting to ambush the home of good people; don't attack the place where they live.
16 For, seven times, may the righteous fall and yet arise, but, lawless men, shall stumble into calamity.
Those who do right may fall down seven times, and still get up again; but the wicked are brought down by disaster.
17 When thine enemy falleth, do not thou rejoice, and, when he stumbleth, let not thy heart exult:
Don't celebrate when your enemies fall; don't be glad when they trip up,
18 Lest Yahweh see it, and it be wicked in his eyes, and he turn away from him his anger.
otherwise when the Lord sees it, he'll be unhappy with you and won't punish your enemies as he planned.
19 Burn not with vexation against evil doers, be not envious of lawless men;
Don't get all upset over the wicked, or be jealous of those who do wrong,
20 For there shall be no future for the wicked, The lamp of the lawless, shall go out.
for evil people have no future—the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21 Revere thou Yahweh, my son, and the king, and, with the fickle, have thou no fellowship;
My son, honor the Lord and the king, and don't join those who are rebellious,
22 For, suddenly, shall arise their calamity; and, the misfortune of their years, who knoweth?
for disaster will suddenly fall on them. Who knows how the Lord and king will punish them?
23 These things also, concern the wise, To take note of faces in judgment, is not good.
These are more sayings of the wise: Showing favoritism when passing judgment is wrong.
24 He that saith to the lawless man, Righteous, thou art, peoples shall denounce him, populations shall curse him;
Those who tell the guilty, “You're innocent,” will be cursed by the people and hated by the nation,
25 But, to reprovers, one should be pleasant, and, upon them, should come an excellent blessing:
while those who convict the guilty will be appreciated, and will receive a rich blessing.
26 Lips, should one kiss with one who answereth in right words.
An honest answer is a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare, in the open, thy work, and make ready, in the field, for thyself, Afterwards, shalt thou build thy house.
Do the work you need to do outside first, then prepare and sow your fields, and only after that start building your house.
28 Do not become a needless witness against thy neighbour, so mightest thou open too wide thy lips:
Don't testify against your neighbors without having a good reason, and don't tell lies.
29 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.
Don't say to yourself, “I'm going to do to him what he did to me! I'll pay him back for what he's done!”
30 By the field of the sluggard, I passed, and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense;
I walked past the field of a lazy man, past a vineyard of someone with no sense.
31 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.
It was all overgrown with thorns, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall had fallen down.
32 So I observed it, for myself, I applied my heart, I looked—I accepted correction:
As I looked I thought about it, and what I saw taught me a lesson:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest:
You may say, “Please, just a little more sleep, a little longer snooze, a little more folding of the arms to rest”—
34 So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
and poverty will attack you like a robber, destitution like an armed warrior.
