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Proverbs 24
New Life Version
Proverbs 24
New Life Version
24 Do not be jealous of sinful men. Do not want to be with them. 2 For their hearts make plans to hurt others and their lips talk about trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom. It is made strong by understanding, 4 and by much learning the rooms are filled with all riches that are pleasing and of great worth.
5 A wise man is strong. A man of much learning adds to his strength. 6 For by wise leading you will make war, and the fight is won when there are many wise men to help you make the plans.
7 Wisdom is too hard for a fool to understand. He does not open his mouth in the gate. 8 He who plans to do wrong will be called a trouble maker. 9 Planning to do foolish things is sin, and the man who laughs at the truth is hated by men.
10 If you are weak in the day of trouble, your strength is small.
11 Save those who are being taken away to death. Keep them from being killed. 12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,” does not He Who knows what is in hearts see it? Does not He Who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will He not pay each man for his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good. Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know that wisdom is like this to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
15 O sinful man, do not lie in wait against the house of the man who is right with God. Do not destroy his resting place. 16 For a man who is right with God falls seven times, and rises again, but the sinful fall in time of trouble.
17 Do not be full of joy when the one who hates you falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he trips. 18 The Lord will see it and will not be pleased, and He will turn away His anger from him.
19 Do not worry yourself because of those who do wrong, and do not be jealous of the sinful. 20 For there will be no future for the sinful man. The lamp of the sinful will be put out.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king. Have nothing to do with those who are given to change. 22 For their trouble will rise up all at once, and who knows how much both of them will destroy?
23 These also are sayings of the wise. It is not good to show favor in judging. 24 He who says to the sinful, “You are right and good,” will be spoken against by people and hated by nations. 25 But those who speak strong words to the sinful will find joy and good will come upon them. 26 To give the right answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Get your work done outside. Make your fields ready. Then after that, build your house.
28 Do not speak against your neighbor without a reason, and do not lie with your lips. 29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me. I will pay the man for what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of the lazy man, by the grape-vines of the man without understanding. 31 And see, it was all grown over with thorns. The ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw it, I thought about it. I looked and received teaching. 33 “A little sleep, a little rest, a little folding of the hands to rest,” 34 and your being poor will come as a robber, and your need like a man ready to fight.
Proverbs 24
New International Version
Proverbs 24
New International Version
Saying 20
24 Do not envy(A) the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,(B)
and their lips talk about making trouble.(C)
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built,(D)
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.(E)
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.(F)
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8 Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10 If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!(G)
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.(H)
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs(I) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay(J) everyone according to what they have done?(K)
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know 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.(L)
Saying 27
15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.(M)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat(N) when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,(O)
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.(P)
Saying 29
19 Do not fret(Q) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.(R)
Saying 30
21 Fear the Lord and the king,(S) my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction(T) on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:(U)
To show partiality(V) in judging is not good:(W)
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”(X)
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause(Y)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”(Z)
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(AA)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(AB)—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.(AC)
Proverbs 24
Authorized (King James) Version
Proverbs 24
Authorized (King James) Version
24 Be not thou envious against evil men,
neither desire to be with them.
2 For their heart studieth destruction,
and their lips talk of mischief.
3 Through wisdom is an house builded;
and by understanding it is established:
4 and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong;
yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war:
and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool:
he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do evil
shall be called a mischievous person.
9 The thought of foolishness is sin:
and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 If thou faint in the day of adversity,
thy strength is small.
11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death,
and those that are ready to be slain;
12 if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?
and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?
and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good;
and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul:
when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward,
and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
spoil not his resting place:
16 for a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:
but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,
and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 lest the Lord see it, and it displease him,
and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself because of evil men,
neither be thou envious at the wicked;
20 for there shall be no reward to the evil man;
the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
21 My son, fear thou the Lord and the king:
and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22 for their calamity shall rise suddenly;
and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23 These things also belong to the wise.
It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous;
him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
25 but to them that rebuke him shall be delight,
and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26 Every man shall kiss his lips
that giveth a right answer.
27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field;
and afterwards build thine house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause;
and deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me:
I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of the slothful,
and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
and nettles had covered the face thereof,
and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well:
I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth;
and thy want as an armed man.
Proverbs 24
New American Standard Bible
Proverbs 24
New American Standard Bible
Precepts and Warnings
24 Do not be (A)envious of evil people,
Nor desire to (B)be with them;
2 For their [a]minds plot (C)violence,
And their lips (D)talk of trouble.
3 (E)By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are (F)filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A (G)wise man is [b]strong,
And a person of knowledge [c]increases power.
6 For (H)by wise guidance you will [d]wage war,
And (I)in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
8 One who (L)plans to do evil,
People will call a [e]schemer.
9 The (M)devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.
10 If you (N)show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress,
Your strength is meager.
11 (O)Rescue those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!
12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He (P)who weighs the hearts not (Q)consider it?
And (R)does He who (S)watches over your soul not know it?
And will He not [f](T)repay a person according to his work?
13 My son, eat (U)honey, for it is good;
Yes, the (V)honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that (W)wisdom is the same for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a [g](X)future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 (Y)Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a (Z)righteous person falls seven times and rises again,
But the (AA)wicked stumble in time of disaster.
17 (AB)Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 Otherwise, the Lord will see and [h]be displeased,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 (AC)Do not get upset because of evildoers
Or be (AD)envious of the wicked;
20 For (AE)there will be no [i](AF)future for the evil person;
The (AG)lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, [j](AH)fear the Lord and the king;
Do not get involved with those [k]of high rank,
22 For their (AI)disaster will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?
23 These also are (AJ)sayings of the wise:
To [l](AK)show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 One (AL)who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
(AM)Peoples will curse him, nations will scold him;
25 But (AN)for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 One who gives [m]a right answer
Kisses the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside,
And (AO)make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward, then, build your house.
28 Do not be a (AP)witness against your neighbor for no reason,
And (AQ)do not deceive with your lips.
29 (AR)Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me;
I will [n]repay the person according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of [o]a lazy one,
And by the vineyard of a person (AS)lacking [p]sense,
31 And behold, it was completely (AT)overgrown with weeds;
Its surface was covered with (AU)weeds,
And its stone (AV)wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I [q]reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 “(AW)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come like [r]a drifter,
And your need like [s]an armed man.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:2 Lit hearts
- Proverbs 24:5 Lit in strength
- Proverbs 24:5 Lit strengthens power
- Proverbs 24:6 Lit make battle for yourself
- Proverbs 24:8 Or deviser of evil
- Proverbs 24:12 Lit bring back to
- Proverbs 24:14 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:18 Lit it is evil in His eyes
- Proverbs 24:20 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:21 Or revere
- Proverbs 24:21 Or who change
- Proverbs 24:23 Lit regard the face
- Proverbs 24:26 Or an honest
- Proverbs 24:29 Lit bring back
- Proverbs 24:30 Lit an idle
- Proverbs 24:30 Lit heart
- Proverbs 24:32 Lit set my heart
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit one who moves about
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit a man with a shield
Proverbs 24
The Message
Proverbs 24
The Message
Intelligence Outranks Muscle
19
24 1-2 Don’t envy bad people;
don’t even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
all they talk about is making trouble.
20
3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house,
and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms
with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.
21
5-6 It’s better to be wise than strong;
intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
22
7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.
23
8-9 The person who’s always cooking up some evil
soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
Fools incubate sin;
cynics desecrate beauty.
Rescue the Perishing
24
10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
there wasn’t much to you in the first place.
25
11-12 Rescue the perishing;
don’t hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”
will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know—
Someone not impressed with weak excuses.
26
13-14 Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—
and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
Likewise knowledge,
and wisdom for your soul—
Get that and your future’s secured,
your hope is on solid rock.
27
15-16 Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;
don’t try to get the best of them.
No matter how many times you trip them up,
God-loyal people don’t stay down long;
Soon they’re up on their feet,
while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
28
17-18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;
don’t gloat over his collapse.
God might see, and become very provoked,
and then take pity on his plight.
29
19-20 Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
Those people have no future at all;
they’re headed down a dead-end street.
30
21-22 Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;
don’t be defiant or mutinous.
Without warning your life can turn upside down,
and who knows how or when it might happen?
More Sayings of the Wise
An Honest Answer
23 It’s wrong, very wrong,
to go along with injustice.
24-25 Whoever whitewashes the wicked
gets a black mark in the history books,
But whoever exposes the wicked
will be thanked and rewarded.
26 An honest answer
is like a warm hug.
27 First plant your fields;
then build your barn.
28-29 Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs—
no slander or gossip, please.
Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me.
I’ll make you pay for what you did!”
30-34 One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,
and then passed the vineyard of a slob;
They were overgrown with weeds,
thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
I took a long look and pondered what I saw;
the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”
New Life Version (NLV)
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson