Proverbs 24
New International Reader's Version
Saying 20
24 Do not want what evil people have.
Don’t long to be with them.
2 In their hearts they plan to hurt others.
With their lips they talk about making trouble.
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built.
Through understanding it is made secure.
4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with priceless and beautiful things.
Saying 22
5 Wise people have success by means of great power.
Those who have knowledge gather strength.
6 If you go to war, you surely need guidance.
If you want to win, you need many good advisers.
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for foolish people.
They shouldn’t speak when people meet at the city gate to conduct business.
Saying 24
8 Anyone who thinks up sinful things to do
will be known as one who plans evil.
9 Foolish plans are sinful.
People hate those who make fun of others.
Saying 25
10 If you grow weak when trouble comes,
your strength is very small!
11 Save those who are being led away to death.
Hold back those who are about to be killed.
12 Don’t say, “But we didn’t know anything about this.”
Doesn’t the God who knows what you are thinking see it?
Doesn’t the God who guards your life know it?
He will pay back everyone for what they have done.
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, because it is good.
Honey from a honeycomb has a sweet taste.
14 I want you to know that wisdom is like honey for you.
If you find it, there is hope for you tomorrow.
So your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 27
15 Don’t hide and wait like a burglar near a godly person’s house.
Don’t rob their home.
16 Even if godly people fall down seven times, they always get up.
But those who are evil trip and fall when trouble comes.
Saying 28
17 Don’t be happy when your enemy falls.
When he trips, don’t let your heart be glad.
18 The Lord will see it, but he won’t be pleased.
He might turn his anger away from your enemy.
Saying 29
19 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t long for what sinners have.
20 Tomorrow evil people won’t have any hope.
The lamps of sinners will be blown out.
Saying 30
21 My son, have respect for the Lord and the king.
Don’t join with officials who disobey them.
22 The Lord and the king will suddenly destroy them.
Who knows what trouble those two can bring?
More Sayings of Wise People
23 Here are more sayings of wise people.
Taking sides in court is not good.
24 A curse will fall on those who say the guilty are not guilty.
Nations will ask for bad things to happen to them.
People will speak against them.
25 But it will go well with those who sentence guilty people.
Rich blessings will come to them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order.
Get your fields ready.
After that, build your house.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor for no reason.
Would you use your lips to tell lies?
29 Don’t say, “I’ll do to them what they have done to me.
I’ll get even with them for what they did.”
30 I went past the field of someone who didn’t want to work.
I went past the vineyard of someone who didn’t have any sense.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds.
The stone wall had fallen down.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed.
I learned a lesson from what I saw.
33 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
34 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
Proverbs 24
New King James Version
Do Not Envy Evil Men
24 Do not be (A)envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2 For their heart devises violence,
And their lips talk of troublemaking.
3 Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 (B)A wise man is strong,
Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
6 (C)For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
7 (D)Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 He who (E)plots to do evil
Will be called a [a]schemer.
9 The devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you (F)faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.
11 (G)Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not (H)He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man (I)according to his deeds?
13 My son, (J)eat honey because it is good,
And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
14 (K)So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
If you have found it, there is a [b]prospect,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not plunder his resting place;
16 (L)For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
(M)But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
17 (N)Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Lest the Lord see it, and [c]it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.
19 (O)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, (P)fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those given to change;
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin those two can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These things also belong to the wise:
(Q)It is not good to [d]show partiality in judgment.
24 (R)He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Him the people will curse;
Nations will abhor him.
25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have (S)delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
27 (T)Prepare your outside work,
Make it fit for yourself in the field;
And afterward build your house.
28 (U)Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
[e]For would you deceive with your lips?
29 (V)Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
30 I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, (W)all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
33 (X)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 (Y)So shall your poverty come like [f]a prowler,
And your need like [g]an armed man.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:8 Lit. master of evil plots
- Proverbs 24:14 Lit. latter end
- Proverbs 24:18 Lit. it be evil in His eyes
- Proverbs 24:23 Lit. recognize faces
- Proverbs 24:28 LXX, Vg. Do not deceive
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit. one who walks about
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit. a man with a shield
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
