Proverbs 24
Legacy Standard Bible
My Son, Fear Yahweh
24 Do not be (A)jealous of evil men,
And do not desire to (B)be with them;
2 For their heart meditates on (C)destruction,
And their lips (D)talk of mischief.
3 (E)By wisdom a house is built,
And by discernment it is firmly established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are (F)filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A (G)wise man is [a]strong,
And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.
6 For (H)by guidance you will make war,
And (I)in abundance of counselors there is salvation.
8 One who (L)deliberately thinks to do evil,
Men will call a [b]schemer.
9 The (M)scheming of folly is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you (N)are slack in the day of trouble,
Your strength is in trouble.
11 (O)Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are stumbling to the slaughter, Oh hold them back.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
Does not He (P)who weighs the hearts (Q)understand?
And (R)does not He who (S)guards your soul know?
And will not He [c](T)render to man according to his work?
13 Eat (U)honey, my son, for it is good,
Indeed, the (V)honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that (W)wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a [d](X)future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 (Y)Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the abode of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a (Z)righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the (AA)wicked will stumble in [e]calamity.
17 When your enemy falls, (AB)do not be glad,
And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;
18 Lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 (AC)Do not fret because of evildoers
Do not be (AD)jealous of the wicked;
20 For (AE)there will be no [f](AF)future for the evil one;
The (AG)lamp of the wicked will go out.
21 My son, [g](AH)fear Yahweh and the king;
Do not associate with those who change,
22 For suddenly their (AI)disaster will rise,
And who knows the upheaval that comes from both of them?
23 These also are (AJ)sayings of the wise.
To [h](AK)show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He (AL)who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
(AM)Peoples will curse him, nations will be indignant with him;
25 But (AN)to those who reprove the wicked, it will be pleasant,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 He kisses the lips
Who responds with right words.
27 Establish your work outside
And (AO)make it ready for yourself in the field;
And afterwards, you shall build your house.
28 Do not be a (AP)witness against your neighbor without cause,
Nor (AQ)deceive with your lips.
29 (AR)Do not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him;
I will [i]render to the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man (AS)lacking a heart of wisdom,
31 And behold, it was completely [j](AT)overgrown with thistles;
[k](AU)Nettles have covered its surface,
And its stone (AV)wall has been torn down.
32 And I beheld, I set my heart upon it;
I saw, I received discipline.
33 “(AW)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come as [l]a robber
And your want like [m]an armed man.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:5 Lit in strength
- Proverbs 24:8 Or deviser of evil
- Proverbs 24:12 Lit bring back
- Proverbs 24:14 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:16 Lit evil
- Proverbs 24:20 Lit latter end
- Proverbs 24:21 Or reverence
- Proverbs 24:23 Lit recognize a face
- Proverbs 24:29 Lit bring back
- Proverbs 24:31 Lit gone up
- Proverbs 24:31 A kind of weed
- Proverbs 24:34 Or a vagabond; lit one who walks
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit a man with a shield
Proverbs 24
New Living Translation
24 Don’t envy evil people
or desire their company.
2 For their hearts plot violence,
and their words always stir up trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom
and becomes strong through good sense.
4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
5 The wise are mightier than the strong,[a]
and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
6 So don’t go to war without wise guidance;
victory depends on having many advisers.
7 Wisdom is too lofty for fools.
Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.
8 A person who plans evil
will get a reputation as a troublemaker.
9 The schemes of a fool are sinful;
everyone detests a mocker.
10 If you fail under pressure,
your strength is too small.
11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
12 Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve.
13 My child,[b] eat honey, for it is good,
and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.
14 In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
If you find it, you will have a bright future,
and your hopes will not be cut short.
15 Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly,
and don’t raid the house where the godly live.
16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
don’t be happy when they stumble.
18 For the Lord will be displeased with you
and will turn his anger away from them.
19 Don’t fret because of evildoers;
don’t envy the wicked.
20 For evil people have no future;
the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21 My child, fear the Lord and the king.
Don’t associate with rebels,
22 for disaster will hit them suddenly.
Who knows what punishment will come
from the Lord and the king?
More Sayings of the Wise
23 Here are some further sayings of the wise:
It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
24 A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.
25 But it will go well for those who convict the guilty;
rich blessings will be showered on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss of friendship.
27 Do your planning and prepare your fields
before building your house.
28 Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause;
don’t lie about them.
29 And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me!
I’ll get even with them!”
30 I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
