Proverbs 24

Saying 20

24Do not envy^x the wicked,

do not desire their company;

²for their hearts plot violence,^y

and their lips talk about making trouble.^z

Saying 21

³By wisdom a house is built,^a

and through understanding it is established;

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures.^b

Saying 22

⁵The wise prevail through great power,

and those who have knowledge muster their strength.

⁶Surely you need guidance to wage war,

and victory is won through many advisers.^c

Saying 23

⁷Wisdom is too high for fools;

in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24

⁸Whoever plots evil

will be known as a schemer.

⁹The schemes of folly are sin,

and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25

¹⁰If you falter in a time of trouble,

how small is your strength!^d

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death;

hold back those staggering toward slaughter.^e

¹²If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”

does not he who weighs^f the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay^g everyone according to what they have done?^h

Saying 26

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good;

honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:

If you find it, there is a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.ⁱ

Saying 27

¹⁵Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,

do not plunder their dwelling place;

¹⁶for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,

but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.^j

Saying 28

¹⁷Do not gloat^k when your enemy falls;

when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,^l

¹⁸or the Lord will see and disapprove

and turn his wrath away from them.^m

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fretⁿ because of evildoers

or be envious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evildoer has no future hope,

and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.^o

Saying 30

²¹Fear the Lord and the king,^p my son,

and do not join with rebellious officials,

²²for those two will send sudden destruction^q on them,

and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These also are sayings of the wise:^r

To show partiality^s in judging is not good:^t

²⁴Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”^u

will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.

²⁵But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,

and rich blessing will come on them.

²⁶An honest answer

is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Put your outdoor work in order

and get your fields ready;

after that, build your house.

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause^v—

would you use your lips to mislead?

²⁹Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;

I’ll pay them back for what they did.”^w

³⁰I went past the field of a sluggard,^x

past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;

³¹thorns had come up everywhere,

the ground was covered with weeds,

and the stone wall was in ruins.

³²I applied my heart to what I observed

and learned a lesson from what I saw:

³³A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest^y—

³⁴and poverty will come on you like a thief

and scarcity like an armed man.^z