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
1#A new section (24:1–14)—on the fates of the wicked and foolish—begins with a warning not to take the foolish as role models. The same admonition is repeated in 23:17–18 and 24:19–20. In 24:1, the verb means “to be jealous, zealous; to emulate.” The motive stated in the other passages—the wicked have no future—is indirectly stated here. Do not envy the wicked,
nor desire to be with them;#Prv 3:31; 23:17; Ps 37:1.
2For their hearts plot violence,
and their lips speak of foul play.
3By wisdom a house is built,
by understanding it is established;
4And by knowledge its rooms are filled
with every precious and pleasing possession.
5The wise are more powerful than the strong,
and the learned, than the mighty,#Prv 21:22.
6For by strategy war is waged,
and victory depends on many counselors.#Prv 20:18.
7#The verses are unclear; most scholars take them as two or even three single sayings, but, taken singly, the verses are banal. They are best taken as a single statement. Just as vv. 3–6 described the advantages of wisdom, so vv. 7–9 describe the disadvantages of its opposite, folly: it alienates one from the community (v. 7), for fools become notorious (v. 8), dooming their plans and ostracizing themselves. Wise words are beyond fools’ reach,#Sir 6:21.
in the assembly they do not open their mouth;
8As they calculate how to do evil,
people brand them troublemakers.
9The scheme of a fool gains no acceptance,
the scoffer is an abomination to the community.
10#Excuses for not coming to the aid of one’s neighbor in serious trouble do not suffice before God, who sees through self-serving excuses. Did you fail in a day of adversity,
did your strength fall short?
11Did you fail to rescue those who were being dragged off to death,#Rescue…death: perhaps refers to the legal rescue of those unjustly condemned to death.
those tottering, those near death,
12because you said, “We didn’t know about it”?
Surely, the Searcher of hearts knows
and will repay all according to their deeds.#Ps 62:13; Sir 16:12; Mt 16:27; Rom 2:6.
13#God’s word is sometimes said to be sweeter than honey, e.g., Ps 119:101–103. Cf. also Ps 19:11; Prv 16:24; Ez 3:3; Sir 24:19–22. If you eat honey, my son, because it is good,
if pure honey is sweet to your taste,
14Such, you must know, is wisdom to your soul.
If you find it, you will have a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.#Prv 23:18.
15#The just will overcome every misfortune that oppresses them. Seven times is an indefinite number. Do not lie in wait at the abode of the just,
do not ravage their dwelling places;
16Though the just fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble from only one mishap.
17#The admonition is linked to the previous by the words “fall” and “stumble.” Premature public celebration of the downfall of enemies equivalently preempts the retribution that belongs to God. Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and when they stumble, do not let your heart exult,
18Lest the Lord see it, be displeased with you,
and withdraw his wrath from your enemies.
19Do not be provoked at evildoers,
do not envy the wicked;
20For the evil have no future,
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.#Prv 13:9.
21My son, fear the Lord and the king;
have nothing to do with those who hate them;
22For disaster will issue suddenly,
and calamity from them both, who knows when?
V. FURTHER SAYINGS OF THE WISE
23These also are Words of the Wise:
To show partiality in judgment is not good.#Prv 18:5; 28:21; Lv 19:15; Dt 1:17; 16:19.
24Whoever says to the guilty party, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by nations, scorned by peoples;
25But those who render just verdicts will fare well,
and on them will come the blessing of prosperity.
26An honest reply—
a kiss on the lips.#The kiss is a gesture of respect and affection. The greatest sign of affection and respect for another is to tell that person the truth.
27Complete your outdoor tasks,
and arrange your work in the field;
afterward you can build your house.#House: can refer to both the building and the family (cf. 2 Sm 7). In the context established by the placement noted above under 24:23, the saying means that neglect of one’s field is a sign that one is not building the house properly. In an agricultural society especially, the concept of household includes fields for animals and crops. On the metaphorical level, one must lay a careful preparation before embarking on a great project. This verse is sometimes interpreted as advocating careful and practical preparation for marriage.
28Do not testify falsely against your neighbor#Prv 19:5; 25:18.
and so deceive with your lips.
29Do not say, “As they did to me, so will I do to them;#Prv 20:22.
I will repay them according to their deeds.”#Retribution is a long and complex process that belongs to the Lord, not to individuals. Cf. vv. 12d, 17–18.
30#Neglect of one’s fields through laziness ruins all plans to build a house (v. 27). This vignette is a teaching story, like those in 7:1–27; Ps 37:35–36. I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of one with no sense;
31It was all overgrown with thistles;
its surface was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall broken down.
32As I gazed at it, I reflected;
I saw and learned a lesson:
33A little sleep, a little slumber,#Prv 6:10–11.
a little folding of the arms to rest—
34Then poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like a brigand.
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