Proverbs 24
1 Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
Be not thou envious of wicked men, And desire not 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 studieth destruction, And their lips speak mischief.
3 People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
Through wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding is it established;
4 By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
Yea, by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and goodly substance.
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 man is strong; Yea, the man of understanding establisheth his strength.
6 Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
For by wise counsel shalt thou make war, And by the multitude of counsellors cometh success.
7 Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
Wisdom is too high for the fool; He openeth not his mouth at the gate.
8 Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
He that deviseth to do evil Shall be called mischief-master.
9 It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
The purpose of folly is sin; And a scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
If thy spirit faint in the day of adversity, Faint will be thy strength.
11 [If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
Deliver thou those who are dragged to death, And those who totter to the slaughter, —O keep them back!
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.
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.
13 My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, And the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste;
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 learn thou wisdom for thy soul! When thou hast found it, there shall be a reward, And thy expectation shall not be 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.
Plot not, O wicked man! against the habitation of the righteous; Spoil not 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 though the righteous fall seven times, yet shall he rise up again; But the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
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 the LORD see, and it displease him, And he turn away his anger from him.
19 Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
Fret not thyself on account of evil men, Neither be thou envious of the wicked;
20 because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
For there shall be no posterity to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
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,
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king; And mingle not with them that are given to change!
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 shall rise up suddenly, And their ruin, coming from them both, in a moment.
23 Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
These also are words of the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons 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,
He that saith to the wicked, “Thou art righteous,” Him shall the people curse; Nations shall 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).
But it shall be well with them that punish him, And the blessing of prosperity shall come upon them.
26 Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
He that giveth a right answer Kisseth the 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.
Arrange thy work without, And prepare it in thy field: Afterwards thou mayst build thy 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].
Be not a witness without cause against thy neighbor, And deceive not with thy 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.”
Say not, “As he hath done to me, So will I do to him; I will render to the man according to his doings.”
30 One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
I passed by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding,
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, lo! it was all overgrown with thorns, And the face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it. and 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 rest!”
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].
So shall poverty come upon thee like a highwayman; Yea, want like an armed man.
