Proverbs 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men, And do not desire to be with them.
Do not be envious of those who are evil, nor desire to associate with them,
2 For their heart meditates [on] destruction, And their lips speak perverseness.
because their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom, And it establishes itself by understanding.
Through wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established.
4 And the inner parts are filled by knowledge, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 The wise [is] mighty 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 you make war for yourself by plans, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counselors.
for by wise direction you can wage your war and with many advisors there is victory.
7 Wisdom [is] high for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8 Whoever is devising to do evil, They call him 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 a scorner [is] an abomination to man.
A foolish plan is sin and men despise a mocker.
10 You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, Your power is restricted,
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 you take back those slipping to the slaughter.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death and hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter.
12 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.
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 My son, eat honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb [is] sweet to your 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 your soul, If you have found that there is a posterity And your 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 Do not lay 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 the righteous fall and rise seven [times], 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 Do not rejoice in the falling of your enemy, And do not let your heart be joyful in his stumbling,
Do not celebrate when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 Lest YHWH see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He has turned His anger from off him.
or Yahweh will see and disapprove and turn away his wrath from him.
19 Do not fret yourself at evildoers, do not be 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 YHWH, my son, and the king, Do not mix yourself up with changers,
Fear Yahweh, and fear the king, my son; do not associate with those who rebel against them,
22 For their calamity rises suddenly, And the ruin of them both—who knows!
for suddenly their disaster will come and who knows the extent of the destruction that will come from both of them?
23 These are also for the wise: [It] is not good to discern faces in judgment.
These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging a case at law is not good.
24 Whoever is saying to the wicked, “You [are] 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 it is pleasant to those reproving, And a good blessing comes on them.
But those who discipline the wicked will have delight and gifts of goodness will come to them.
26 He who is returning straightforward words kisses lips.
The one who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work in an out-place, And make it ready in the field—go afterward, Then you have built your house.
Prepare your outdoor work, and make everything ready for yourself in the field; after that, build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for nothing, Or you have enticed with your lips.
Do not bear witness against your neighbor without cause and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “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 I passed by near the field of a slothful man, 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 behold, it has gone up—all of it—thorns! Nettles have covered its face, And its stone wall has 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 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 your poverty has come [as] a traveler, And your want as an armed man!
and poverty comes marching upon you, and your needs like an armed soldier.
