Proverbs 24
1My son, envy not bad men, 1 Nor desire to be with them. 1
2For their heart meditates falsehoods, 1 And their lips speak mischiefs. 1
3A house is built by wisdom, 1 And is set up by understanding. 1
4By discretion the chambers are filled 1 With all precious and excellent wealth. 1
5A wise man is better than a strong man; 1 And a man who has prudence than a large estate. 1
6War is carried on with generalship, 1 And aid is supplied to the heart of a counselor. 1
7Wisdom and good understanding are in the gates of the wise: 1 The wise turn not aside from the mouth of the Lord, 1
8But deliberate in council. 1 Death befalls uninstructed men. 1
9The fool also dies in sins; 1 And uncleanness attaches to a pestilent man. 1
10He shall be defiled in the evil day, 1 And in the day of affliction, until he be utterly consumed. 1
11Deliver them that are led away to death, 1 And redeem them that are appointed to be slain; spare not thy help. 1
12But if thou shouldest say, I know not this man; 1 Know that the Lord knows the hearts of all; 1 And he that formed breath for all, he knows all things, 1 Who renders to every man according to his works. 1
13My son, eat honey, for the honeycomb is good, 1 That thy throat may be sweetened. 1
14Thus shalt thou perceive wisdom in thy soul: 1 For if thou find it, thine end shall be good, 1 And hope shall not fail thee. 1
15Bring not an ungodly man into the dwelling of the righteous: 1 Neither be deceived by the feeding of the belly. 1
16For a righteous man will fall seven times, and rise again: 1 But the ungodly shall be without strength in troubles. 1
17If thine enemy should fall, rejoice not over him, 1 Neither be elated at his overthrow. 1
18For the Lord will see it, and it will not please him, 1 And he will turn away his wrath from him. 1
19Rejoice not in evildoers, 1 Neither be envious of sinners. 1
20For the evil man shall have no posterity: 1 And the light of the wicked shall be put out. 1
21My son, fear God and the king; 1 And do not disobey either of them. 1
22t A wicked generation have swords for teeth and jaw teeth as knives, 1 So as to destroy and devour the lowly from the earth, 1 And the poor of them from among men. 1
23And this thing I say to you that are wise for you to learn: 1 It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. 1
24He that says of the ungodly, He is righteous, 1 Shall be cursed by peoples, and hateful among the nations. 1
25But they that reprove him shall appear more excellent, 1 And blessing shall come upon them; 1
26And men will kiss lips that answer well. 1
27Prepare thy works for thy going forth, 1 And prepare thyself for the field; 1 And come after me, 1 And thou shalt rebuild thy house. 1
28Be not a false witness against thy fellow citizen, 1 Neither exaggerate with thy lips. 1
29Say not, As he has treated me, so will I treat him, 1 And I will avenge myself on him for that wherein he has injured me. 1
30A foolish man is like a farm, 1 And a senseless man is like a vineyard. 1
31If thou let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; 1 And he becomes destitute, 1 And his stone walls are broken down. 1
32Afterward I reflected, 1 I looked that I might receive instruction. 1
33The sluggard says, I slumber a little, and I sleep a little, 1 And for a little while I fold my arms across my breast. 1
34But if thou do this, thy poverty will come speedily; 1 And thy want like a swift courier. 1
35The horseleech had three dearly beloved daughters: 1 And these three did not satisfy her; 1 And the fourth was not contented so as to say, Enough. 1
36The grave, and the love of a woman, 1 And the earth not filled with water; 1 Water also and fire will not say, It is enough. 1
37The eye that laughs to scorn a father, and dishonors the old age of a mother, 1 Let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, 1 And let the young eagles devour it. 1
38Moreover there are three things impossible for me to comprehend, 1 And the fourth I know not: 1
39The track of a flying eagle; 1 And the ways of a serpent on a rock; 1 And the paths of a ship passing through the sea; 1 And the ways of a man in youth. 1
40Such is the way of an adulterous woman, 1 Who having washed herself from what she has done, says she has done nothing amiss. 1
41By three things the earth is troubled, 1 And the fourth it cannot bear: 1
42If a servant reign; 1 Or a fool be filled with food; 1
43Or if a maidservant should cast out her own mistress; 1 And if a hateful woman should marry a good man. 1
44And there are four very little things upon the earth, 1 But these are wiser than the wise: 1
45The ants which are weak, 1 And yet prepare their food in summer; 1
46The rabbits also are a feeble race, 1 Who make their houses in the rocks. 1
47The locusts have no king, 1 And yet march orderly at one command. 1
48And the eft, which supports itself by its hands, and is easily taken, 1 Dwells in the fortresses of kings. 1
49And there are three things which go well, 1 And a fourth which passes along finely. 1
50A lion’s whelp, stronger than all other beasts, 1 Which turns not away, nor fears any beast; 1
51And a cock walking in boldly among the hens, 1 And a goat leading the herd; 1 And a king publicly speaking before a nation. 1
52If thou abandon thyself to mirth, 1 And stretch forth thy hand in a quarrel, thou shalt be disgraced. 1
53Milk out milk, and there shall be butter, 1 And if thou wring one’s nostrils there shall come out blood: 1 So if thou extort words, there will come forth quarrels and strifes. 1
54My words have been spoken by God— 1 The oracular answer of a king, whom his mother instructed. 1
55What wilt thou keep, my son, what? the words of God. 1 My firstborn son, I speak to thee: 1 What? son of my womb? 1 What? son of my vows? 1
56Give not thy wealth to women, 1 Nor thy mind and living to remorse. 1 Do all things with counsel: 1 Drink wine with counsel. 1
57Princes are prone to anger: 1 Let them then not drink wine: 1
58Lest they drink, and forget wisdom, 1 And be not able to judge the poor rightly. 1
59Give strong drink to those that are in sorrow, 1 And the wine to drink to those in pain: 1
60That they may forget their poverty, 1 And may not remember their troubles anymore. 1
61Open thy mouth with the word of God, 1 And judge all fairly. 1
62Open thy mouth and judge justly, 1 And plead the cause of the poor and weak.