My Son, Fear Yahweh

¹Do not be jealous of evil men,

And do not desire to be with them;

²For their heart meditates on destruction,

And their lips talk of mischief.

³¶By wisdom a house is built,

And by discernment it is firmly established;

⁴And by knowledge the rooms are filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵¶A wise man is strong,[#24:5 Lit in strength]

And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.

⁶For by guidance you will make war,

And in abundance of counselors there is salvation.

⁷¶Wisdom is too exalted for an ignorant fool,

He does not open his mouth in the gate.

⁸¶One who deliberately thinks to do evil,

Men will call a schemer.

⁹The scheming of folly is sin,

And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

¹⁰¶If you are slack in the day of trouble,

Your strength is in trouble.

¹¹¶Deliver those who are being taken away to death,

And those who are stumbling to the slaughter, Oh hold them back.

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

Does not He who weighs the hearts understand?

And does not He who guards your soul know?

And will not He render to man according to his work?

¹³¶Eat honey, my son, for it is good,

Indeed, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

¹⁴Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it , then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵¶Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the abode of the righteous;

Do not destroy his resting place;

¹⁶For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,

But the wicked will stumble in calamity.

¹⁷¶When your enemy falls, do not be glad,

And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;

¹⁸Lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes,

And turn His anger away from him.

¹⁹¶Do not fret because of evildoers

Do not be jealous of the wicked;

²⁰For there will be no future for the evil one;[#24:20 Lit latter end]

The lamp of the wicked will go out.

²¹¶My son, fear Yahweh and the king;[#24:21 Or reverence]

Do not associate with those who change,

²²For suddenly their disaster will rise,

And who knows the upheaval that comes from both of them?

²³¶These also are sayings of the wise.

To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”

Peoples will curse him, nations will be indignant with him;

²⁵But to those who reprove the wicked , it will be pleasant,

And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶He kisses the lips

Who responds with right words.

²⁷¶Establish your work outside

And make it ready for yourself in the field;

And afterwards, you shall build your house.

²⁸¶Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,

Nor deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him;

I will render to the man according to his work.”

³⁰¶I passed by the field of the sluggard

And by the vineyard of the man lacking a heart of wisdom ,

³¹And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;[#24:31 Lit gone up]

Nettles have covered its surface,

And its stone wall has been torn down.

³²And I beheld, I set my heart upon it;

I saw, I received discipline.

³³“A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest,”

³⁴Then your poverty will come as a robber[#24:34 Or a vagabond ; lit one who walks]

And your want like an armed man.