Proverbs 24:1-22 ▼

1 Don't be envious of wicked men or wish you were with them,

2 because they plan violence, and they are always talking about trouble.

3 By wisdom a house is built; it is made secure through understanding.

4 By knowledge its rooms are furnished with all sorts of expensive and beautiful goods.

5 A wise man is strong, and a knowledgeable man grows in strength.

6 For through wise counsel you will wage your war, and victory lies in an abundance of advisors.

7 Wisdom lies beyond reach of the fool; he has nothing to say in court.

8 The person who plans on doing evil will be called a schemer.

9 To devise folly is sin, and people detest a scoffer.

10 If you grow weary when times are troubled, your strength is limited.

11 Rescue those who are being led away to death, and save those who stumble toward slaughter.

12 If you say, |Look here, we didn't know about this,| doesn't God, who examines motives, discern it? Doesn't the one who guards your soul know about it? Won't he repay each person according to what he has done?

13 My son, eat honey, because it's good for you; indeed, drippings from the honeycomb are sweet to your taste;

14 Keep in mind that wisdom is like that for your soul; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and what you hope for won't be cut short.

15 Don't lie in wait like an outlaw to attack where the righteous live;

16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again, but the wicked stumble into calamity.

17 Don't rejoice when your enemy falls; don't let yourself be glad when he stumbles.

18 Otherwise the LORD will observe and disapprove, and he will turn his anger away from him.

19 Don't be anxious about those who practice evil, and don't be envious of the wicked.

20 For the wicked man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

21 My son, fear both the LORD and the king, and don't keep company with rebels.

22 They will be destroyed suddenly, and who knows what kind of punishment will come from these two?