Proverbs 24
1 Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
2 because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
3 People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
4 By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
7 Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
9 It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
10 If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
11 [If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
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 child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
14 Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
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 be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
16 [Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
18 because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
19 Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
20 because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
22 because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
23 Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
24 If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
25 but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
26 Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
27 First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
28 [In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
30 One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen 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 When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
33 [If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 [soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
