Proverbs 24
Expanded Bible
24 Don’t envy evil people
or ·try to be friends [L long to be] with them.
2 Their ·minds [L hearts] are ·always planning [focused/fixated on] violence,
and ·they always [L their lips] talk about making trouble [Ps. 37; 73].
3 ·It takes wisdom to have a good family [L By wisdom a house is built],
and ·it takes understanding to make it strong [L by understanding it is established].
4 ·It takes knowledge to fill a home [L By knowledge rooms are filled]
with rare and beautiful treasures [31:10–31].
5 Wise people ·have great power [or are mightier than strong people],
and those with knowledge ·have [or than those with] great strength.
6 So you need ·advice [guidance] when you go to war.
If you have lots of ·good advice [counselors], you will win.
7 Foolish people cannot understand wisdom.
They ·have nothing to say [L do not open their mouth] in ·a discussion [L the gate; C where the elders make decisions].
8 Whoever makes evil plans
will be ·known as [called] a ·troublemaker [master schemer].
9 ·Making foolish plans [Scheming] is sinful,
and ·making fun of wisdom is hateful [or people despise mockers].
10 If you ·give up [show yourself weak] ·when trouble comes [L on the day of distress/trouble],
it shows that ·you are weak [L your strength is small].
11 ·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] those who are being led to their death;
·rescue [L don’t restrain yourself from] those who ·are about [L tottering off] to be killed.
12 If you say, “We don’t know anything about this,”
God, who ·knows what’s in your mind [evaluates motives; L weighs hearts], ·will notice [L doesn’t he know?].
He ·is watching you [protects/guards your life], and he will know.
He will reward each person for what he has done.
13 My ·child [L son], eat honey because it is good.
Honey from the honeycomb ·tastes sweet [L is sweet on your palate].
14 In the same way, wisdom is pleasing to ·you [your soul].
If you find it, you have ·hope for the [L a] future,
and your ·wishes [hope] will ·come true [L not be cut off].
15 Don’t be wicked and ·attack [ambush; lie in wait at] a ·good [righteous] family’s house;
don’t ·rob [or destroy] the place where they live.
16 Even though ·good [righteous] people may ·be bothered by trouble [L fall] seven times, they ·are never defeated [L get back up],
but the wicked ·are overwhelmed by [stumble into] trouble.
17 Don’t ·be happy [rejoice] when your enemy ·is defeated [L falls];
don’t let your heart be glad when he ·is overwhelmed [L stumbles].
18 The Lord will notice and ·be displeased [L it will be bad in his eyes].
He may ·not be angry with them anymore [L turn his anger from them; Job 31:29; Ps. 35:15–16; Rom. 12:17–21].
19 Don’t ·envy [get mad at] evil people,
and don’t be jealous of the wicked.
20 An evil person has ·nothing to hope for [L no future];
the lamp of the wicked will be ·put out [extinguished].
21 My ·child [L son], ·respect [fear] the Lord and the king.
Don’t join those people who ·refuse to obey them [rebel].
22 ·The Lord and the king [L They] will quickly destroy such people.
·Those two can cause great disaster! [L Who knows the disaster that both can bring?]
More Words of Wisdom
23 These are also ·sayings of [L according to] the wise [22:17]:
It is not good to ·take sides when you are the judge [show partiality/favoritism in judgment].
24 ·Don’t tell [L Those who say to] the wicked ·that they [L “You…”] are ·innocent [righteous];
people will curse you, and nations will ·hate [despise] you.
25 But things will go well if you ·punish [correct; rebuke] the guilty,
and you will receive rich blessings.
26 An honest answer is as pleasing
as a kiss on the lips.
27 First, ·finish your outside work [execute/establish your affairs in public]
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can build your house.
28 Don’t ·testify [witness] against your neighbor for no good reason.
Don’t ·say things that are false [L deceive with your lips].
29 Don’t say, “·I’ll get even [L As they did to me so I will do to them];
I’ll ·do to him what he did to me [repay them according to their actions].”
30 I ·passed by [happened upon] a lazy person’s field
and by the vineyard of someone ·with no sense [L who lacks heart/sense].
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone walls had fallen down.
32 I ·thought about [took to heart] what I had seen;
I learned this lesson from what I saw.
33 ·You sleep a little; you take a nap [“A little sleep, a little slumber”].
·You fold your hands and [L “A little folding of the arms to…”] lie down to rest [6:10].
34 So ·you will be as poor as if you had been robbed [L poverty will come on you like a robber];
·you will have as little as if you had been held up [L deprivation (will come on you) like a shielded warrior].
Proverbs 24
Amplified Bible
Precepts and Warnings
24 Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2
For their minds plot violence,
And their lips talk of trouble [for the innocent].
3
Through [skillful and godly] wisdom a house [a life, a home, a family] is built,
And by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation],
4
And by knowledge its rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5
A wise man is strong,
And a man of knowledge strengthens his power;(A)
6
For by wise guidance you can wage your war,
And in an abundance of [wise] counselors there is victory and safety.
7
Wisdom is too exalted for a [hardened, arrogant] [a]fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate [where the city’s rulers sit in judgment].
8
He who plans to do evil
Will be called a schemer or deviser of evil.
9
The devising of folly is sin,
And the scoffer is repulsive to men.
10
If you are slack (careless) in the day of distress,
Your strength is limited.
11
Rescue those who are being taken away to death,
And those who stagger to the slaughter, Oh hold them back [from their doom]!
12
If you [claim ignorance and] say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs and examines the hearts and their motives?
And does He not know it who guards your life and keeps your soul?
And will He not repay [you and] every man according to his works?
13
My son, eat honey, because it is good,
And the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14
Know that [skillful and godly] wisdom is [so very good] for your life and soul;
If you find wisdom, then there will be a future and a reward,
And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.
15
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16
For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.(B)
17
Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles,
18
Or the Lord will see your gloating and be displeased,
And turn His anger away from your enemy.
19
Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Or be envious of the wicked,
20
For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21
My son, fear the Lord and the king;
And do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],
22
For their tragedy will rise suddenly,
And who knows the punishment that both [the Lord and the king] will bring on the rebellious?
23
These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24
He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;
25
But to those [honorable judges] who rebuke the wicked, it will go well with them and they will find delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26
He kisses the lips [and wins the hearts of people]
Who gives a right and straightforward answer.
27
Prepare your work outside
And get it ready for yourself in the field;
[b]Afterward build your house and establish a home.
28
Do not be a witness against your [c]neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips [speak neither lies nor half-truths].(C)
29
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for his deed.”(D)
30
I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;
31
And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.
32
When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
33
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”
34
Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:7 See note 1:7.
- Proverbs 24:27 Establishing your priorities and proceeding in an orderly manner brings its own reward.
- Proverbs 24:28 I.e. anyone who comes into your life, not necessarily one who lives nearby.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
