Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
Be not thou envious of wicked men, And desire not 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 speak mischief.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
Through wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding is it established;
4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
Yea, by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and goodly substance.
5 Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
The wise man is strong; Yea, the man of understanding establisheth his strength.
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
For by wise counsel shalt thou make war, And by the multitude of counsellors cometh success.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom is too high for the fool; He openeth not his mouth at 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 mischief-master.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
The purpose of folly is sin; And a scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
If thy spirit faint in the day of adversity, Faint will be thy strength.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Deliver thou those who are dragged to death, And those who totter to the slaughter, —O keep them back!
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 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 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, which 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 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 Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
Plot not, O wicked man! against the habitation of the righteous; Spoil not his resting-place!
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
For though the righteous fall seven times, yet shall he rise up again; But the wicked shall fall into mischief.
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 the LORD see, and it displease him, And he turn away his anger from him.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Fret not thyself on account of evil men, Neither be thou 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 posterity 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 thou the LORD and the king; And mingle 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 up suddenly, And their ruin, coming from them both, in a moment.
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
These also are words of 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 to the wicked, “Thou art righteous,” Him shall the people curse; Nations shall abhor him.
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
But it shall be well with them that punish him, And the blessing of prosperity shall come upon them.
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
He that giveth a right answer Kisseth 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.
Arrange thy work without, And prepare it in thy field: Afterwards thou mayst build thy house.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Be not a witness without cause against thy neighbor, And deceive not 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 hath done to me, So will I do to him; I will render to the man according to his doings.”
30 Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
I passed by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the 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 overgrown with thorns, And the face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
Then I saw, and considered it well; I looked upon it. 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!
So shall poverty come upon thee like a highwayman; Yea, want like an armed man.
