Proverbs 24

Do not envy the wicked

Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company;a ²for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. ³By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;b ⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.c

⁵The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength.d ⁶Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.e ⁷Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

⁸Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer. ⁹The schemes of folly are sin, and people detest a mocker.f ¹⁰If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!g

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.h ¹²If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?i ¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁵Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place; ¹⁶for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.j

¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,k ¹⁸or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them. ¹⁹Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, ²⁰for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials, ²²for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

More sayings of the wise

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good: ²⁴Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. ²⁵But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. ²⁷Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.l ²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause— would you use your lips to mislead?

²⁹Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.” ³⁰I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; ³¹thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.

³²I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: ³³A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— ³⁴and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.