Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
2 For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.
5 Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.
8 Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
12 When thou sayest, 'Lo, we knew not this.' Is not the Ponderer of hearts He who understandeth? And the Keeper of thy soul He who knoweth? And He hath rendered to man according to his work.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
13 Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
14 So [is] the knowledge of wisdom to thy soul, If thou hast found that there is a posterity And thy hope is not cut off.
Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
17 In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
21 Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
22 For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field — go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
30 Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
31 And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.
32 And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
33 A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
