Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious of wicked men, neither crave to be with them;
Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
2 For, violence, their heart muttereth, and, mischief, their lips do speak.
For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
3 In wisdom, is a house builded, and, in understanding, is it established;
A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
4 And, in knowledge, chambers are filled, with all acquisitions, costly and fair.
And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 A wise man, is mighty, and, a man of knowledge, becometh alert in vigour.
The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 Surely, with concerted measures, shalt thou make for thyself war, and, success, lieth in the greatness of the counsellor.
For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
7 Unattainable to a foolish man, are the dictates of wisdom, in the gate, he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do mischief, him, shall men call, a master of plots.
Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
9 The purpose of folly, is sin, and, an abomination to mankind, is a buffoon.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
10 Thou hast been slothful in the day of straitness, Strait, is thy strength.
You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
11 Deliver thou such as are being led forth to death, and, them who are tottering to slaughter, oh that thou wouldst hold back!
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
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?
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.
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, —and droppings from the comb [because they are] sweet to thy palate:
My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
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.
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.
15 Do not lie in wait, thou lawless man, against the home of the righteous, —neither destroy thou his place of rest;
Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
16 For, seven times, may the righteous fall and yet arise, but, lawless men, shall stumble into calamity.
For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 When thine enemy falleth, do not thou rejoice, and, when he stumbleth, let not thy heart exult:
Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
18 Lest Yahweh see it, and it be wicked in his eyes, and he turn away from him his anger.
Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
19 Burn not with vexation against evil doers, be not envious of lawless men;
Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
20 For there shall be no future for the wicked, The lamp of the lawless, shall go out.
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 Revere thou Yahweh, my son, and the king, and, with the fickle, have thou no fellowship;
Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
22 For, suddenly, shall arise their calamity; and, the misfortune of their years, who knoweth?
For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
23 These things also, concern the wise, To take note of faces in judgment, is not good.
These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
24 He that saith to the lawless man, Righteous, thou art, peoples shall denounce him, populations shall curse him;
Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
25 But, to reprovers, one should be pleasant, and, upon them, should come an excellent blessing:
And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
26 Lips, should one kiss with one who answereth in right words.
He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
27 Prepare, in the open, thy work, and make ready, in the field, for thyself, Afterwards, shalt thou build thy house.
Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
28 Do not become a needless witness against thy neighbour, so mightest thou open too wide thy lips:
Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
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.
Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
30 By the field of the sluggard, I passed, and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense;
I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
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.
And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
32 So I observed it, for myself, I applied my heart, I looked—I accepted correction:
And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have 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 lie down.
34 So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
