Παροιμίαι 24
1 υἱέ μὴ ζηλώσῃς κακοὺς ἄνδρας μηδὲ ἐπιθυμήσῃς εἶναι μετ’ αὐτῶν
Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
2 ψεύδη γὰρ μελετᾷ ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν καὶ πόνους τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν λαλεῖ
for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.
3 μετὰ σοφίας οἰκοδομεῖται οἶκος καὶ μετὰ συνέσεως ἀνορθοῦται
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
4 μετὰ αἰσθήσεως ἐμπίμπλαται ταμίεια ἐκ παντὸς πλούτου τιμίου καὶ καλοῦ
through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.
5 κρείσσων σοφὸς ἰσχυροῦ καὶ ἀνὴρ φρόνησιν ἔχων γεωργίου μεγάλου
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
6 μετὰ κυβερνήσεως γίνεται πόλεμος βοήθεια δὲ μετὰ καρδίας βουλευτικῆς
Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
7 σοφία καὶ ἔννοια ἀγαθὴ ἐν πύλαις σοφῶν σοφοὶ οὐκ ἐκκλίνουσιν ἐκ στόματος κυρίου
Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.
8 ἀλλὰ λογίζονται ἐν συνεδρίοις ἀπαιδεύτοις συναντᾷ θάνατος
He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
9 ἀποθνῄσκει δὲ ἄφρων ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἀκαθαρσία δὲ ἀνδρὶ λοιμῷ ἐμμολυνθήσεται
A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
10 ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῇ καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεως ἕως ἂν ἐκλίπῃ
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
11 ῥῦσαι ἀγομένους εἰς θάνατον καὶ ἐκπρίου κτεινομένους μὴ φείσῃ
Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
12 ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃς οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτον γίνωσκε ὅτι κύριος καρδίας πάντων γινώσκει καὶ ὁ πλάσας πνοὴν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς οἶδεν πάντα ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ
If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
13 φάγε μέλι υἱέ ἀγαθὸν γὰρ κηρίον ἵνα γλυκανθῇ σου ὁ φάρυγξ
Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
14 οὕτως αἰσθήσῃ σοφίαν τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ ἐὰν γὰρ εὕρῃς ἔσται καλὴ ἡ τελευτή σου καὶ ἐλπίς σε οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει
Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.
15 μὴ προσαγάγῃς ἀσεβῆ νομῇ δικαίων μηδὲ ἀπατηθῇς χορτασίᾳ κοιλίας
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
16 ἑπτάκι γὰρ πεσεῖται ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ἀναστήσεται οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν κακοῖς
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
17 ἐὰν πέσῃ ὁ ἐχθρός σου μὴ ἐπιχαρῇς αὐτῷ ἐν δὲ τῷ ὑποσκελίσματι αὐτοῦ μὴ ἐπαίρου
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 ὅτι ὄψεται κύριος καὶ οὐκ ἀρέσει αὐτῷ καὶ ἀποστρέψει τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ
or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.
19 μὴ χαῖρε ἐπὶ κακοποιοῖς μηδὲ ζήλου ἁμαρτωλούς
Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
20 οὐ γὰρ μὴ γένηται ἔκγονα πονηρῶν λαμπτὴρ δὲ ἀσεβῶν σβεσθήσεται
For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
21 φοβοῦ τὸν θεόν υἱέ καὶ βασιλέα καὶ μηθετέρῳ αὐτῶν ἀπειθήσῃς
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
22 ἐξαίφνης γὰρ τείσονται τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς τὰς δὲ τιμωρίας ἀμφοτέρων τίς γνώσεται
For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
23 ταῦτα δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν τοῖς σοφοῖς ἐπιγινώσκειν αἰδεῖσθαι πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει οὐ καλόν
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 ὁ εἰπὼν τὸν ἀσεβῆ δίκαιός ἐστιν ἐπικατάρατος λαοῖς ἔσται καὶ μισητὸς εἰς ἔθνη
Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
25 οἱ δὲ ἐλέγχοντες βελτίους φανοῦνται ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς δὲ ἥξει εὐλογία ἀγαθή
but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
26 χείλη δὲ φιλήσουσιν ἀποκρινόμενα λόγους ἀγαθούς
An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
27 ἑτοίμαζε εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ παρασκευάζου εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ πορεύου κατόπισθέν μου καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσεις τὸν οἶκόν σου
Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
28 μὴ ἴσθι ψευδὴς μάρτυς ἐπὶ σὸν πολίτην μηδὲ πλατύνου σοῖς χείλεσιν
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
29 μὴ εἴπῃς ὃν τρόπον ἐχρήσατό μοι χρήσομαι αὐτῷ τείσομαι δὲ αὐτὸν ἅ με ἠδίκησεν
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
30 ὥσπερ γεώργιον ἀνὴρ ἄφρων καὶ ὥσπερ ἀμπελὼν ἄνθρωπος ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν
I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
31 ἐὰν ἀφῇς αὐτόν χερσωθήσεται καὶ χορτομανήσει ὅλος καὶ γίνεται ἐκλελειμμένος οἱ δὲ φραγμοὶ τῶν λίθων αὐτοῦ κατασκάπτονται
Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.
32 ὕστερον ἐγὼ μετενόησα ἐπέβλεψα τοῦ ἐκλέξασθαι παιδείαν
I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
33 ὀλίγον νυστάζω ὀλίγον δὲ καθυπνῶ ὀλίγον δὲ ἐναγκαλίζομαι χερσὶν στήθη
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 ἐὰν δὲ τοῦτο ποιῇς ἥξει προπορευομένη ἡ πενία σου καὶ ἡ ἔνδειά σου ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς δρομεύς
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
