Proverbs 24
24
1Don’t envy evil people
or desire their company.
2For their hearts plot violence,
and their words always stir up trouble.
3A house is built by wisdom
and becomes strong through good sense.
4Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
5The wise are mightier than the strong,#24:5 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads A wise man is strength.
and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
6So don’t go to war without wise guidance;
victory depends on having many advisers.
7Wisdom is too lofty for fools.
Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.
8A person who plans evil
will get a reputation as a troublemaker.
9The schemes of a fool are sinful;
everyone detests a mocker.
10If you fail under pressure,
your strength is too small.
11Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
12Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve.
13My child,#24:13 Hebrew My son; also in 24:21. eat honey, for it is good,
and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.
14In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
If you find it, you will have a bright future,
and your hopes will not be cut short.
15Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly,
and don’t raid the house where the godly live.
16The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
17Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
don’t be happy when they stumble.
18For the Lord will be displeased with you
and will turn his anger away from them.
19Don’t fret because of evildoers;
don’t envy the wicked.
20For evil people have no future;
the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21My child, fear the Lord and the king.
Don’t associate with rebels,
22for disaster will hit them suddenly.
Who knows what punishment will come
from the Lord and the king?
More Sayings of the Wise
23Here are some further sayings of the wise:
It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
24A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.
25But it will go well for those who convict the guilty;
rich blessings will be showered on them.
26An honest answer
is like a kiss of friendship.
27Do your planning and prepare your fields
before building your house.
28Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause;
don’t lie about them.
29And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me!
I’ll get even with them!”
30I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.
32Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:
33A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Currently Selected:
Proverbs 24: NLT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Proverbs 24
24
1Be not thou envious against evil men;
Neither desire to be with them:
2For their heart studieth oppression,
And their lips talk of mischief.
3Through wisdom is a house builded;
And by understanding it is established;
4And by knowledge are the chambers filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5A wise man is strong;
Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might.
6For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war;
And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool:
He openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8He that deviseth to do evil,
Men shall call him a mischief-maker.
9The thought of foolishness is sin;
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10If thou faint in the day of adversity,
Thy strength is small.
11Deliver them that are carried away unto death,
And those that are ready to be slain see that thou hold back.
12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew not this;
Doth not he that weigheth the hearts consider it?
And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?
And shall not he render to every man according to his work?
13My son, eat thou honey, for it is good;
And the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste:
14So shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul;
If thou hast found it, then shall there be a reward,
And thy hope shall not be cut off.
15Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous;
Destroy not his resting-place:
16For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again;
But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,
And let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown;
18Lest Jehovah see it, and it displease him,
And he turn away his wrath from him.
19Fret not thyself because of evil-doers;
Neither be thou envious at the wicked:
20For there shall be no reward to the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
21My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king;
And company not with them that are given to change:
22For their calamity shall rise suddenly;
And the destruction from them both, who knoweth it?
23These also are sayings of the wise.
To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
24He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous,
Peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him;
25But to them that rebuke him shall be delight,
And a good blessing shall come upon them.
26He kisseth the lips
Who giveth a right answer.
27Prepare thy work without,
And make it ready for thee in the field;
And afterwards build thy house.
28Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause;
And deceive not with thy lips.
29Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.
30I went by the field of the sluggard,
And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
The face thereof was covered with nettles,
And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32Then I beheld, and considered well;
I saw, and received instruction:
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep;
34So shall thy poverty come as a robber,
And thy want as an armed man.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in