Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
Be not thou envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2 For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
for their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
Through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
and by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant substance.
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 increaseth strength.
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
For with good advice shalt thou make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom is too high for a fool: he will not open his mouth in the gate.
8 Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a master of intrigues.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
The purpose of folly is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
[If] thou losest courage in the day of trouble, thy strength is small.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Deliver them that are taken forth unto death, and withdraw not from them that stagger to 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 thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, will not he that weigheth the hearts consider it? And he that preserveth thy soul, he knoweth it; and he rendereth to man according to his work.
13 Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
Eat honey, my son, for it is good; and a honeycomb is sweet to thy 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.
so consider wisdom for thy soul; if thou hast found it, there shall be a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
Lay not wait, O wicked [man], against the dwelling of the righteous; lay not waste his resting-place.
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
For the righteous falleth seven times, and riseth up again; but the wicked stumble into disaster.
17 In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
18 Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
lest Jehovah see it, and it be evil in his sight, and he turn away his anger from him.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, [and] be not envious of the wicked:
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
for there shall be no future to the evil [man]; the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
21 Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
My son, fear Jehovah and the king: meddle not with them that are given to change.
22 For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
These things also come from the wise. 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 saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him;
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
but to them that rebuke [him] shall be delight, and a good blessing cometh upon them.
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
He kisseth the lips who giveth a right answer.
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 work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and wouldest thou deceive 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, I will do so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to 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 by the field of a sluggard, and by the vineyard of a man void of understanding;
31 And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
and lo, it was all grown over with thistles, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
Then I looked, I took it to heart; I saw, I 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!
So shall thy poverty come [as] a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.
