Keraia
Wisdom and Poetry

Proverbs 24

Do Not Envy

Saying 20

1Do not envy wicked men

or desire their company;

1Do not be envious of men of evil, and do not desire to be with them,

2for their hearts devise violence,

and their lips declare trouble.

2for their heart devises violence and their lips speak trouble.

Saying 21

3By wisdom a house is built

and by understanding it is established;

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

4through knowledge its rooms are filled

with every precious and beautiful treasure.

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

Saying 22

5A wise man is strong,

and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

5A man of wisdom is strong; and a man of knowledge strengthens power;

6Only with sound guidance should you wage war,

and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

6for by wise counsel you can fashion for yourself the battle, and victory is in a multitude counselors.

Saying 23

7Wisdom is too high for a fool;

he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

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

Saying 24

8He who plots evil

will be called a schemer.

8One planning to do evil, they will call him an owner of schemes.

9A foolish scheme is sin,

and a mocker is detestable to men.

9The plotting of foolishness is sin, and an abomination to man is onemocking.

Saying 25

10If you faint in the day of distress,

how small is your strength!

10If you slacken in the day of distress, then narrow is your strength.

11Rescue those being led away to death,

and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

11Deliver those being led away to death, and those stumbling to the slaughter, if only you would hold back.

12If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,”

does not He who weighs hearts consider it?

Does not the One who guards your life know?

Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

12If you say, “Behold we did not know this,” does not the One weighing hearts Himself know it, and the One watching over your soul Himself know it? And He has rendered to each man according to his work.

Saying 26

13Eat honey, my son, for it is good,

and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

13Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet upon your palate.

14Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul.

If you find it, there is a future for you,

and your hope will never be cut off.

14Know that wisdom is thus to your soul; if you have found it, then there is a posterity, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 27

15Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous;

do not destroy his resting place.

15Do not lie in wait like a wicked one against the abode of the righteous; do not spoil his resting place;

16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;

but the wicked stumble in bad times.

16for seven times the righteous may fall and rise up, and the wicked shall stumble into evil.

Saying 28

17Do not gloat when your enemy falls,

and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

17At the falling of your enemy, you should not be glad, and in his stumbling do not let your heart rejoice,

18or the LORD will see and disapprove,

and turn His wrath away from him.

18lest YHWH should see and it be evil in His eyes, and He turns away His anger from him.

Saying 29

19Do not fret over evildoers,

and do not be envious of the wicked.

19You must not fret at the evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked,

20For the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

20for there is no posterity for an evil one, and the lamp of the wicked ones will be extinguished.

Saying 30

21My son, fear the LORD and the king,

and do not associate with the rebellious.

21Fear YHWH, my son, and the king; do not pledge yourself with ones who change,

22For they will bring sudden destruction.

Who knows what ruin they can bring?

22for suddenly their downfall will arise, and the ruin of them both—who knows?

Further Sayings of the Wise

23These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judgment

is not good.

23These also are of the wise ones: The recognizing of faces in giving judgment is not good.

24Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—

peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

24One saying to a wicked one, “You are righteous”—peoples will curse him; nations will denounce him;

25but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,

and rich blessing will come upon them.

25and to those reproving it will be pleasant, and upon them will come a blessing of goodness.

26An honest answer given

is like a kiss on the lips.

26The lips he kisses—the one returning straightforward words.

27Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;

after that, you may build your house.

27Prepare your work in the outdoors, and make it ready in the field for yourself; and afterward you may build your house.

28Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips.

28You must not be a witness without cause against your neighbor or deceive with your lips.

29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;

I will repay the man according to his work.”

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

30I went past the field of a slacker

and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

30Near the field of a lazy man I passed by, and near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.

31Thorns had grown up everywhere,

thistles had covered the ground,

and the stone wall was broken down.

31And behold, thorns had come up all over it; its face was covered with nettles, and the wall of its stones was torn down.

32I observed and took it to heart;

I looked and received instruction:

32And I saw—I—I set my heart; I have seen, I have received instruction.

33A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little a folding of the hands to rest,

34and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and need like a bandit.

34and your poverty has come as one traveling, and your needs like a man of shield.