Proverbs 24

1 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.

Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,

2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).

3 Through wisdom is an house built; and by understanding it is established:

People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.

4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.

5 A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.

6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.

Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].

8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.

Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.

9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].

10 If thou faintest in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.

11 If thou refraineth to deliver them that are drawn to death, and those that are ready to be slain;

[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].

12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that weigheth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.

13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.

14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].

15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; destroy not his resting place:

Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.

16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

[Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.

17 Rejoice not when thy enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth:

Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,

18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.

19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;

Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,

20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].

21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,

22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.

23 These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].

24 He that saith to the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,

25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.

but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).

26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].

27 Prepare thy work outside, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thy house.

First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.

28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

[In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].

29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”

30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.

31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face of it, and its stone wall was broken down.

I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).

32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:

33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,

34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

[soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].