Proverbs 24
1 Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
Don't be jealous of evil people; don't long to spend time with them,
2 because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
for they think up cruel plans and discuss how to cause trouble.
3 People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
A house is built by wisdom; its foundation is made secure through understanding.
4 By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
Its rooms are filled by knowledge with all kinds of valuable and beautiful objects.
5 Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
If you have wisdom, you are strong; if you have knowledge, your power increases,
6 Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
for with wise guidance you can go to war; you will be victorious by having many good advisors.
7 Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
Wisdom goes over the heads of stupid people; they have nothing to contribute when important matters are discussed.
8 Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
Anyone who plans to do evil will be seen as a troublemaker.
9 It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
Plans thought up by stupid people are sinful. Everyone hates those who are scornful of others.
10 If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
If you give up in times of trouble, it shows how weak you are.
11 [If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
Rescue those who are being led away to be executed; save those who are stumbling on their way to be slaughtered.
12 If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
If you say, “Look, we didn't know anything about this,” don't you think the God who judges your motives will see what's happening? He who watches over you knows, and he will pay people back for what they've done.
13 My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
My son, eating honey is good for you; the honeycomb tastes sweet.
14 Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
In the same way, you should know that wisdom is good for you; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
15 Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
Don't be like a criminal waiting to ambush the home of good people; don't attack the place where they live.
16 [Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
Those who do right may fall down seven times, and still get up again; but the wicked are brought down by disaster.
17 Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
Don't celebrate when your enemies fall; don't be glad when they trip up,
18 because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
otherwise when the Lord sees it, he'll be unhappy with you and won't punish your enemies as he planned.
19 Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
Don't get all upset over the wicked, or be jealous of those who do wrong,
20 because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
for evil people have no future—the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21 My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
My son, honor the Lord and the king, and don't join those who are rebellious,
22 because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
for disaster will suddenly fall on them. Who knows how the Lord and king will punish them?
23 Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
These are more sayings of the wise: Showing favoritism when passing judgment is wrong.
24 If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
Those who tell the guilty, “You're innocent,” will be cursed by the people and hated by the nation,
25 but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
while those who convict the guilty will be appreciated, and will receive a rich blessing.
26 Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
An honest answer is a kiss on the lips.
27 First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
Do the work you need to do outside first, then prepare and sow your fields, and only after that start building your house.
28 [In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
Don't testify against your neighbors without having a good reason, and don't tell lies.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
Don't say to yourself, “I'm going to do to him what he did to me! I'll pay him back for what he's done!”
30 One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
I walked past the field of a lazy man, past a vineyard of someone with no sense.
31 I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).
It was all overgrown with thorns, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall had fallen down.
32 When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
As I looked I thought about it, and what I saw taught me a lesson:
33 [If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
You may say, “Please, just a little more sleep, a little longer snooze, a little more folding of the arms to rest”—
34 [soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
and poverty will attack you like a robber, destitution like an armed warrior.
