Proverbs 24
1 Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
Ne æmuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis:
2 For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.
3 By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
Sapientia ædificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.
4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.
5 Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
Vir sapiens, fortis est: et vir doctus, robustus et validus.
6 For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
Quia cum dispositione initur bellum: et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
Excelsa stulto sapientia, in porta non aperiet os suum.
8 Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
Qui cogitat mala facere, stultus vocabitur.
9 The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
Cogitatio stulti peccatum est: et abominatio hominum detractor.
10 Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
Si desperaveris lassus in die angustiæ: imminuetur fortitudo tua.
11 If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter — thou keepest back.
Erue eos, qui ducuntur ad mortem: et qui trahuntur ad interitum liberare ne cesses.
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.
Si dixeris: Vires non suppetunt: qui inspector est cordis, ipse intelligit, et servatorem animæ tuæ nihil fallit, reddetque homini iuxta opera sua.
13 Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb — sweet to thy palate.
Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo:
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.
Sic et doctrina sapientiæ animæ tuæ: quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
Ne insidieris, et quæras impietatem in domo iusti, neque vastes requiem eius.
16 For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
Septies enim cadet iustus, et resurget: impii autem corruent in malum.
17 In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus, ne gaudeas, et in ruina eius ne exultet cor tuum:
18 Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.
19 Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec æmuleris impios:
20 For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.
21 Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem: et cum detractoribus non commiscearis:
22 For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both — who knoweth!
quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum: et ruinam utriusque quis novit?
23 These also are for the wise: — To discern faces in judgment is not good.
Hæc quoque sapientibus: Cognoscere personam in iudicio non est bonum.
24 Whoso is saying to the wicked, 'Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him — nations abhor him.
Qui dicunt impio: Iustus es: maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.
25 And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
Qui arguunt eum, laudabuntur: et super ipsos veniet benedictio.
26 Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
Labia deosculabitur, qui recta verba respondet.
27 Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field — go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
Præpara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum: ut postea ædifices domum tuam.
28 Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum: nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.
29 Say not, 'As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
Ne dicas: Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei: reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.
30 Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti:
31 And lo, it hath gone up — all of it — thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
et ecce totum repleverant urticæ, et operuerant superficiem eius spinæ, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.
32 And I see — I — I do set my heart, I have seen — I have received instruction,
Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.
33 A little sleep — a little slumber — A little folding of the hands to lie down.
Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis, pauxillum manus conseres, ut quiescas:
34 And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!
et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.
