Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
[My] son, envy not bad men, nor desire to be with them.
2 For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
For their heart meditates falsehoods, and their lips speak mischiefs.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
A house is built by wisdom, and is set up by understanding.
4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
By discretion the chambers are filled with all precious and excellent wealth.
5 Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
A wise man is better than a strong man; and a man who has prudence than a large estate.
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
War is carried on with generalship, and aid is supplied to the heart of a counsellor.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom and good understanding are in the gates of the wise: the wise turn not aside from the mouth of the Lord,
8 Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
but deliberate in council. Death befalls uninstructed [men].
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
The fools also dies in sins; and uncleanness [attaches] to a pestilent man.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
He shall be defiled in the evil day, and in the day of affliction, until he be utterly consumed.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Deliver them that are led away to death, and redeem them that are appointed to be slain; spare not [thy help].
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.
But if thou shouldest say, I know not this man; know that the Lord knows the hearts of all; and he that formed breath for all, he knows all things, who renders to every man according to his works.
13 Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
[My] son, eat honey, for the honeycomb is good, that thy throat may be sweetened.
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.
Thus shalt thou perceive wisdom in thy soul: for if thou find it, thine end shall be good, and hope shall not fail thee.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
Bring not an ungodly man into the dwelling of the righteous: neither be deceived by the feeding of the belly.
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
For a righteous man will fall seven times, and rise [again]: but the ungodly shall be without strength in troubles.
17 In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
If thine enemy should fall, rejoice not over him, neither be elated at his overthrow.
18 Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
For the Lord will see [it], and it will not please him, and he will turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Rejoice not in evil-doers, neither be envious of sinners.
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
For the evil man shall have no posterity: and the light of the wicked shall be put out.
21 Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
[My] son, fear God and the king; and do not disobey either of them.
22 For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
For they will suddenly punish the ungodly, and who can know the vengeance [inflicted] by both?
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
And this thing I say to you that are wise [for you] to learn: It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
He that says of the ungodly, He is righteous, shall be cursed by peoples, and hateful among the nations.
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
But they that reprove [him] shall appear more excellent, and blessing shall come upon them;
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
and [men] will kiss lips that answer well.
27 Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field — go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
Prepare thy works for [thy] going forth, and prepare thyself for the field; and come after me, and thou shalt rebuild thine house.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Be not a false witness against thy [fellow] citizen, neither exaggerate with thy lips.
29 Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
Say not, As he has treated me, so will I treat him, and I will avenge myself on him for that wherein he has injured me.
30 Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
A foolish man is like a farm, and a senseless man is like a vineyard.
31 And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
If thou let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; and he becomes destitute, and his stone walls are broken down.
32 And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
Afterwards I reflected, I looked that I might receive instruction.
33 A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
[The sluggard says, ]I slumber a little, and I sleep a little, and for a little while I fold my arms across [my] breast.
34 And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
But if thou do this, thy poverty will come speedily; and thy want like a swift courier.
