Proverbs 24

1Do not envy evil men, and do not desire to be with them.

2For their hearts contemplate destruction, and their lips speak trouble.

3By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.

4and by knowledge rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth.

5A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases strength.

6For with wise guidance you will wage your war, and victory comes through many counselors.

7Wisdom is too high for a fool; at the gate he does not open his mouth.

8Whoever plans to do evil will be called a master of schemes.

9The scheme of folly is sin, and a scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

10If you falter in a day of distress, your strength is small.

11Rescue those being taken away to death, and hold back those staggering to the slaughter.

12If you say, “Look, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs hearts understand? Does not he who guards your life know? And will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

13Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

14Know that wisdom is likewise good for your soul. If you find it, there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

15Do not lie in wait, wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not devastate his resting place.

16For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in calamity.

17Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart exult when he stumbles,

18lest Yahweh see it, and it be evil in his eyes, and he turn his anger away from him.

19Do not fret because of evildoers; do not envy the wicked.

20For there will be no future for an evil person; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king; do not associate with those who are given to change.

22For their disaster will arise suddenly, and who knows the ruin from them both?

23These also are sayings of the wise: to show partiality in judgment is not good.

24Whoever says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him; nations will denounce him.

25But it will go well with those who rebuke, and a blessing of good things will come upon them.

26Whoever answers with straightforward words kisses the lips.

27Prepare your work outside; make it ready for yourself in the field; afterward, build your house.

28Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Would you deceive with your lips?

29Do not say, “As he has done to me, so I will do to him; I will repay the man according to his deed.”

30I passed by the field of a sluggard, and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense.

31and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; nettles covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down.

32Then I saw and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction.

33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down—

34and your poverty will come like a traveler, and your need like a man with a shield.