Proverbiorum 24
1 Ne aemuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis:
Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
2 quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.
For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
3 Sapientia aedificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.
A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
4 In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.
And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 Vir sapiens, fortis est: et vir doctus, robustus et validus.
The wise [is] mighty in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 Quia cum dispositione initur bellum: et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.
For you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
7 Excelsa stulto sapientia, in porta non aperiet os suum.
Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 Qui cogitat mala facere, stultus vocabitur.
Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him a master of wicked thoughts.
9 Cogitatio stulti peccatum est: et abominatio hominum detractor.
The thought of folly [is] sin, And a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
10 Si desperaveris lapsus in die angustiae: imminuetur fortitudo tua.
You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
11 Erue eos, qui ducuntur ad mortem: et qui trahuntur ad interitum liberare ne cesses.
If [from] delivering those taken to death, And you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
12 Si dixeris: Vires non suppetunt: qui inspector est cordis, ipse intelligit, et servatorem animae tuae nihil fallit, reddetque homini iuxta opera sua.
When you say, “Behold, we did not know this.” Is the Ponderer of hearts not He who understands? And the Keeper of your soul He who knows? And He has rendered to man according to his work.
13 Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo:
My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your palate.
14 Sic et doctrina sapientiae animae tuae: quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.
So [is] the knowledge of wisdom to your soul, If you have found that there is a posterity And your hope is not cut off.
15 Ne insidieris, et quaeras impietatem in domo iusti, neque vastes requiem eius.
Do not lay wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting place.
16 Septies enim in die cadit iustus, et resurgit: impii autem corruent in malum.
For the righteous fall and rise seven [times], And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus, ne gaudeas, et in ruina eius ne exultet cor tuum:
Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
18 ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.
Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
19 Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec aemuleris impios:
Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be envious at the wicked,
20 quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.
For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem: et cum detractoribus non commiscearis:
Fear YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
22 quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum: et ruinam utriusque quis novit?
For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
23 Haec quoque sapientibus dico: Cognoscere personam in iudicio non est bonum.
These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
24 Qui dicunt impio: Iustus es: maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.
Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] righteous,” Peoples execrate him—nations abhor him.
25 Qui arguunt eum, laudabuntur: et super ipsos veniet benedictio.
And it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
26 Labia deosculabitur, qui recta verba respondet.
He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
27 Praepara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum: et postea aedifices domum tuam.
Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
28 Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum: nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.
Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
29 Ne dicas: Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei: reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.
Do not say, “As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.”
30 Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti:
I passed by near the field of a slothful man, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 et ecce totum repleverant urticae, et operuerant superficiem eius spinae, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.
And behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has been broken down.
32 Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.
And I see—I set my heart, I have seen—I have received instruction,
33 Usquequo piger dormies? usquequo de somno consurgens? Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis, pauxillum manus conseres, ut quiescas:
A little sleep—a little slumber—A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.
And your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
