Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
Do not be envious of those who are evil, nor desire to associate with them,
2 For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
because their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about trouble.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
Through 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.
By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
A warrior of wisdom is strong, and a man of knowledge increases his strength;
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
for by wise direction you can wage your war and with many advisors there is victory.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8 Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
There is one who plans to do evil— people call him a master of schemes.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
A foolish plan is sin and men despise a mocker.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
If you become weak with fear in the day of trouble, then your strength is small.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death and hold back those who are staggering to 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 knew nothing about this,” does not the one who weighs the heart understand what you are saying? The one who guards your life, does he not know it? Will God not give to each one what he deserves?
13 Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
My son, eat honey because it is good, because the drippings of the honeycomb are 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.
Such is wisdom for your soul— if you find it, there will be a future and your hope will not 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 like the wicked person who attacks the house of the righteous person. Do not destroy his home!
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
For the righteous person falls down seven times and rises again, but wicked people are brought down by calamity.
17 In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
Do not celebrate when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
or Yahweh will see and disapprove and turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Do not worry because of evildoers, and do not envy wicked people,
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
for the evil person has no future and the lamp of wicked people will go out.
21 Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
Fear Yahweh, and fear the king, my son; do not associate with those who rebel against them,
22 For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
for suddenly their disaster will come and who knows the extent of the destruction that will come from both of them?
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging a case at law is not good.
24 Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
Whoever says to the wicked person, “You are a righteous person,” will be cursed by peoples and hated by nations.
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
But those who discipline the wicked will have delight and gifts of goodness will come to them.
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
The one who gives an honest answer gives 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.
Prepare your outdoor work, and make everything ready for yourself in the field; after that, build your house.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Do not bear witness 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 what he has done to me; I will pay him back for what he has done.”
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 lazy man, past the vineyard of the man having no sense.
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, the ground was covered with nettles, 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 saw and considered it; 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 comes marching upon you, and your needs like an armed soldier.
