Proverbs 24
24
1Do not envy evil people
or wish you were with them,
2because their minds plot violence,
and their lips talk trouble.
3With wisdom a house is built.
With understanding it is established.
4With knowledge its rooms are filled
with every kind of riches, both precious and pleasant.
5A strong man knows how to use his strength,
but a person with knowledge is even more powerful.
6After all, with the right strategy you can wage war,
and with many advisers there is victory.
7Matters of wisdom are beyond the grasp of a stubborn fool.
At the city gate he does not open his mouth.
8Whoever plans to do evil will be known as a schemer.
9Foolish scheming is sinful,
and a mocker is disgusting to everyone.
10If you faint in a crisis, you are weak.
11Rescue captives condemned to death,
and spare those staggering toward their slaughter.
12When you say, “We didn’t know this,”
won’t the one who weighs hearts take note of it?
Won’t the one who guards your soul know it?
Won’t he pay back people for what they do?
13Eat honey, my son, because it is good.
Honey that flows from the honeycomb tastes sweet.
14The knowledge of wisdom is like that for your soul.
If you find it, then there is a future,
and your hope will never be cut off.
15You wicked one,
do not lie in ambush at the home of a righteous person.
Do not rob his house.
16A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again.
However, in a disaster wicked people fall.
17Do not be happy when your enemy falls,
and do not feel glad when he stumbles.
18The Lord will see it, he won’t like it,
and he will turn his anger away from that person.
19Do not get overly upset with evildoers.
Do not envy wicked people,
20because an evil person has no future,
and the lamps of wicked people will be snuffed out.
21Fear the Lord, my son.
Fear the king as well.
Do not associate with those who always insist upon change,
22because disaster will come to them suddenly.
Who knows what misery both may bring?
Learning from Wise People
23These also are the sayings of wise people:
Showing partiality as a judge is not good.
24Whoever says to a guilty person, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by people and condemned by nations.
25But people will be pleased with those who convict a guilty person,
and a great blessing will come to them.
26Giving a straight answer is ⌞like⌟ a kiss on the lips.
27Prepare your work outside,
and get things ready for yourself in the field.
Afterwards, build your house.
28Do not testify against your neighbor without a reason,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29Do not say,
“I’ll treat him as he treated me.
I’ll pay him back for what he has done to me.”
30I passed by a lazy person’s field,
the vineyard belonging to a person without sense.
31I saw that it was all overgrown with thistles.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and its stone fence was torn down.
32When I observed ⌞this⌟, I took it to heart.
I saw it and learned my lesson.
33“Just a little sleep,
just a little slumber,
just a little nap.”
34Then your poverty will come like a drifter,
and your need will come like a bandit.
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Proverbs 24: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 24
24
— 19 —
1Don’t be jealous of evil people. Have no desire to be around them. 2In their hearts they plan to do evil. All they talk about is making trouble.
— 20 —
3Good homes are built on wisdom and understanding. 4Knowledge fills the rooms with rare and beautiful treasures.
— 21 —
5Wisdom makes a man more powerful. Knowledge gives a man strength. 6Get good advice before you start a war. To win, you must have many good advisors.
— 22 —
7Fools cannot understand wisdom. They have nothing to say when people are discussing important things.
— 23 —
8If you start planning ways to do wrong, people will learn that you are a troublemaker. 9Such foolish plans are wrong, and people have no respect for someone who laughs at what is right.
— 24 —
10If you are weak in times of trouble, that is real weakness.
— 25 —
11If you see someone on their way to death or in danger of being killed, you must do something to save them. 12You cannot say, “It’s none of my business.” The Lord knows everything, and he knows why you do things. He watches you, and he will pay you back for what you do.
— 26 —
13My son, eat honey; it is good. Honey straight from the honeycomb is the sweetest. 14In the same way, know that wisdom is good for you. Wisdom will give you something to hope for that will not disappoint you.
— 27 —
15Don’t be like a criminal who makes plans to rob those who are good or take away their homes. 16Good people might fall again and again, but they always get up. It is the wicked who are defeated by their troubles.
— 28 —
17Don’t be happy when your enemy has troubles. Don’t be glad when they fall. 18The Lord will see this, and he might be upset with you and decide not to punish your enemy.
— 29 —
19Don’t let those who are evil upset you, and don’t be jealous of them. 20They have no hope. Their light will burn out.
— 30 —
21Son, respect the Lord and the king, and don’t join with those who are against them, 22because people like that can quickly be destroyed. You have no idea how much trouble God and the king can make for their enemies.
More Wise Sayings
23These are also words from the wise:
A judge must be fair. He must not support some people simply because he knows them. 24The people will turn against a judge who lets the guilty go free. Even the people of other nations will curse him. 25But if a judge punishes the guilty, then people will be happy with him, and he will be a blessing to them.
26An honest answer is as pleasing as a kiss on the lips.
27First get your fields ready, next plant your crops, and then build your house.
28Don’t speak against someone without a good reason, or you will appear foolish.
29Don’t say, “You hurt me, so I will do the same to you. I will punish you for what you did to me.”
30I walked past a field that belonged to a lazy man. It was a vineyard that belonged to someone who understood nothing. 31Weeds were growing everywhere! Wild vines covered the ground, and the wall around the vineyard was broken and falling down. 32I looked at this and thought about it. This is what I learned: 33a little sleep, a little rest, folding your arms, and taking a nap— 34these things will make you poor very quickly. Soon you will have nothing, as if a thief broke in and took everything away.
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