Proverbs 24

¹Do not envy wicked men

or desire their company;

²for their hearts devise violence,

and their lips declare trouble.

³By wisdom a house is built

and by understanding it is established;

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled

with every precious and beautiful treasure.

⁵A wise man is strong,^a

and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

⁶Only with sound guidance should you wage war,

and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool;

he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

⁸He who plots evil

will be called a schemer.

⁹A foolish scheme is sin,

and a mocker is detestable to men.

¹⁰If you faint in the day of distress,

how small is your strength!

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death,

and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

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?

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good,

and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

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.

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

do not destroy his resting place.

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

but the wicked stumble in bad times.

¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls,

and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸or the LORD will see and disapprove,

and turn His wrath away from him.

¹⁹Do not fret over evildoers,

and do not be envious of the wicked.

²⁰For the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king,

and do not associate with the rebellious.

²²For they will bring sudden destruction.

Who knows what ruin they can bring?

²³These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judgment

is not good.

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

peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

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

and rich blessing will come upon them.

²⁶An honest answer given

is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;

after that, you may build your house.

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,

and do not 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.”

³⁰I went past the field of a slacker

and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere,

thistles had covered the ground,

and the stone wall was broken down.

³²I observed and took it to heart;

I looked and received instruction:

³³A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and need like a bandit.