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
1 Do not imitate evil men, nor desire to be among them.
2 For their mind meditates on robberies, and their lips speak deceptions.
3 By wisdom shall a house be built, and by prudence shall it be strengthened.
4 By doctrine, the storerooms shall be filled with every substance that is precious and most beautiful.
5 A wise man is strong, and a well-taught man is robust and valiant.
6 For war is undertaken in an orderly manner, and safety shall be where there are many counsels.
7 Wisdom is beyond the foolish; at the gate he will not open his mouth.
8 Whoever intends to do evil shall be called foolish.
9 The intention of the foolish is sin. And the detractor is an abomination among men.
10 If you despair, being weary in the day of anguish, your strength will be diminished.
11 Rescue those who are led away to death. And do not cease from delivering those who are dragged away to a violent death.
12 If you would say: "I do not have sufficient strength." He who inspects the heart, the same one understands, and nothing slips past the one who preserves your soul. And he shall repay a man according to his works.
13 My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb, because it is so sweet to your throat.
14 So, too, is the doctrine of wisdom to your soul. When you have found it, you will have hope in the end, and your hope shall not perish.
15 Do not lie in wait, and do not seek impiety in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.
16 For the just one will fall seven times, and he shall rise again. But the impious will fall into evil.
17 When your enemy will fall, do not be glad, and do not let your heart exult in his ruin,
18 lest perhaps the Lord see, and it displease him, and he may take away his wrath from him.
19 Do not contend with the most wicked, and do not be a rival to the impious.
20 For the evil hold no hope in the future, and the lamp of the impious will be extinguished.
21 My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king. And do not mingle with detractors.
22 For their perdition shall up rise suddenly. And who knows what ruin will be for each of them?
23 Likewise, these things are for the wise. It is not good to base judgment on knowledge of character.
24 Those who say to the impious, "You are just," shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall detest them.
25 Those who argue against the impious shall be praised, and a blessing shall come upon them.
26 He shall kiss the lips, who responds with upright words.
27 Prepare your outdoor work, and diligently cultivate your field, so that afterward, you may build your house.
28 Do not be a witness without cause against your neighbor. And do not mislead anyone with your lips.
29 Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me." I will repay each one according to his work.
30 I passed by the field of a lazy man, and by the vineyard of a foolish man,
31 and behold, it was entirely filled with nettles, and thorns had covered its surface, and the stonewall was destroyed.
32 When I had seen this, I laid it up in my heart, and by this example, I received discipline.
33 You will sleep a little," I said. "You will slumber briefly. You will fold your hands a little, so as to rest.
34 And destitution will overtake you like a runner, and begging will overtake you like an armed man."
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