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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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
1Don’t envy evil people.
Don’t try to be friends with them.
2In their minds they plan cruel things.
And they always talk about making trouble.
3It takes wisdom to have a good family.
It takes understanding to make it strong.
4It takes knowledge to fill a home
with rare and beautiful treasures.
5A wise man has great power.
And a man who has knowledge is very strong.
6So you need the advice of others when you go to war.
If you have many people to give advice, you will win.
7A foolish person cannot understand wisdom.
He has nothing to say in court.
8Whoever makes evil plans
will be known as a troublemaker.
9Making foolish plans is sinful.
And making fun of others is hateful.
10If you give up when trouble comes,
it shows that you have very little strength.
11Save those who are being led to their death.
Rescue those who are about to be killed.
12You may say, “We don’t know anything about this.”
But God knows what is in your mind, and he will notice.
He is watching you, and he will know.
He will pay each person back for what he has done.
13My child, eat honey because it is good.
Honey from the honeycomb tastes sweet.
14In the same way, wisdom is pleasing to you.
If you find it, you have hope for the future.
Your wishes will come true.
15Don’t be like the wicked and attack a good man’s house.
Don’t rob the place where he lives.
16A good man may be bothered by trouble seven times, but he does not give up.
But the wicked are overwhelmed by trouble.
17Don’t be happy when your enemy is defeated.
Don’t be glad when he is overwhelmed.
18The Lord will notice and be displeased.
Then the Lord may not be angry with him anymore.
19Don’t envy evil people.
And don’t be jealous of the wicked.
20An evil person has nothing to hope for.
The wicked will die like a flame that is put out.
21My child, respect the Lord and the king.
Don’t join those people who refuse to obey them.
22The Lord and the king will quickly destroy such people.
Those two can cause great trouble!
More Words of Wisdom
23These are also wise sayings:
It is not good to take sides when you are the judge.
24Don’t say that the wicked have done right.
People will curse you, and nations will hate you.
25But things will go well for judges who punish the guilty.
And they will receive good things from God.
26An honest answer is as pleasing
as a kiss on the lips.
27First, you should work outside
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can start having your family.
28Don’t testify against your neighbor for no good reason.
Don’t say things that are false.
29Don’t say, “I’ll get even with that man.
I’ll do to him what he did to me.”
30I passed by a lazy person’s field.
I went by the vineyard of a man who had no sense.
31Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds.
And the stone walls had fallen down.
32I thought about what I had seen.
I learned this lesson from what I saw.
33You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and rest.
34Soon you will be poor, as if you had been robbed.
You will have as little as if you had been held up.
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