Mishlĕ (Proverbs) 24

¹Do not envy evil men, Nor desire to be with them;

²For their heart plots to ravage, And their lips talk of trouble.

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

⁴And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵Mighty is the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge strengthens power;

⁶For by wise guidance you wage your own battle, And delivery is by a great counsellor.

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

⁸He who plots to do evil Is called a master of evil plots.

⁹The purpose of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

¹⁰If you falter in the day of distress, Your strength is small!

¹¹Deliver those taken to death, And hold back those stumbling to the kill,

¹²If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Would not He who weighs the hearts discern it? He who watches over your life, Would He not know it? And shall He not repay man according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good, And the honeycomb, sweet to your taste;

¹⁴Know that wisdom is thus to your being; If you have found it, there is a future, And your expectancy is not cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wrong one, Against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not ravage his resting place;

¹⁶For seven times a righteous man falls and rises, But the wrong one stumbles into evil.

¹⁷Do not exult when your enemy falls, And let not your heart rejoice when he stumbles;

¹⁸Lest יהוה see and it be evil in His eyes, And He turn away His wrath from him.

¹⁹Do not fret because of evil-doers, And do not envy the wrong;

²⁰For there is no future for the evil-doer; The lamp of the wrongdoers is put out.

²¹My son, fear יהוה and the sovereign; Do not mingle with those who change;

²²For their calamity arises suddenly, And who knows the ruin of both of them?

²³These also are for the wise: It is not good to show partiality in right-ruling.

²⁴He who says to the wrong, “You are righteous” – peoples curse him, Nations despise him.

²⁵But those who rebuke the wrong , It is pleasant, and a good blessing comes on them.

²⁶He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.

²⁷Prepare your outside work, And make it fit for yourself in the field; Then you shall build your house.

²⁸Do not witness against your neighbour without cause, And do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “Let me do to him as he did to me; I repay each according to his work.”

³⁰I passed by the field of the lazy, And by the vineyard of the man lacking heart;

³¹And see, it was all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; And its stone wall was broken down.

³²When I saw it, I set my heart on it; I looked and received discipline:

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

³⁴And your poverty shall come, a prowler, And your need like an armed man.