Proverbs 24 JPS Tanakh (1917)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Numbers like (22-2) in the text give the Hebrew verse numbering where it differs.
1 Be not thou envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them.
1 Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
2 for their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about mischief.
3 Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established;
3 Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
5 A wise man has great power. A knowledgeable man increases strength,
6 For with wise advice thou shalt make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
6 for by wise guidance you wage your war, and victory is in many advisors.
7 Wisdom is as unattainable to a fool as corals; he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do evil, men shall call him a mischievous person.
8 One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
9 The thought of foolishness is sin; and the scorner is an abomination to men.
9 The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small indeed.
10 If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.
11 Deliver them that are drawn unto death; and those that are ready to be slain wilt thou forbear to rescue?
11 Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!
12 If thou sayest: 'Behold, we knew not this', doth not He that weigheth the hearts 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?
12 If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not give to every man according to his work?
13 My son, eat thou honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to thy taste;
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste;
14 So know thou wisdom to be unto thy soul; if thou hast found it, then shall there be a future, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
14 so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul. If you have found it, then there will be a reward: Your hope will not be cut off.
15 Lie not in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, spoil not his resting-place;
15 Don’t lay in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Don’t destroy his resting place;
16 For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, but the wicked stumble under adversity.
16 for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,
18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.
18 lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
19 Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no future to the evil man, the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
20 for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change;
21 My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious,
22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin from them both?
22 for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?
23 These also are sayings of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He that saith unto the wicked: 'Thou art righteous', peoples shall curse him, nations shall execrate him;
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
25 But to them that decide justly shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
25 but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.
26 He kisseth the lips that giveth a right answer.
26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thy house.
27 Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.
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.'
29 Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
30 I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thistles, the face thereof was covered with nettles, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
31 Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I beheld, and considered well; I saw, and received instruction.
32 Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
33 'Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep' —
33 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
34 So shall thy poverty come as a runner, and thy want as an armed man.
34 so your poverty will come as a robber and your want as an armed man.
Cross references (34)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 37:7; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 3:31; James 4:5–6; Psalm 37:1
- 2 Psalm 7:14; Psalm 28:3; Psalm 10:7; Isaiah 59:4; Job 15:35
- 3 Proverbs 14:1; Proverbs 9:1; 1 Corinthians 3:9; Colossians 2:7; Jeremiah 10:12
- 4 Proverbs 15:6; Proverbs 21:20; Proverbs 20:15; Proverbs 8:21; Matthew 13:52
- 5 Ecclesiastes 7:19; Colossians 1:11; Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 21:22; Proverbs 8:14
- 6 Proverbs 11:14; Proverbs 20:18; Ephesians 6:10–20; Proverbs 15:22; Luke 14:31
- 7 Proverbs 14:6; Psalm 10:5; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Psalm 92:5–6; Amos 5:10
- 8 Psalm 21:11; Ezekiel 38:10–11; Romans 1:30; Nahum 1:11; Proverbs 6:14
- 9 Matthew 15:19; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Isaiah 55:7; Proverbs 29:8; Acts 8:22
- 10 Isaiah 40:28–31; Ephesians 3:13; Jeremiah 51:46; Hebrews 12:3–5; 1 Samuel 27:1
- 11 Psalm 82:4; Isaiah 58:6–7; 1 John 3:16–17; Job 29:17; Luke 10:31–32
- 12 Job 34:11; Jeremiah 17:10; Revelation 2:23; Romans 2:6; 1 Samuel 16:7
- 13 Isaiah 7:15; Song of Songs 5:1; Proverbs 25:16; Song of Songs 4:11; Matthew 3:4
- 14 James 1:25; Proverbs 2:10; Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 119:103; Proverbs 23:18
- 15 Jeremiah 11:19; Acts 9:24; 1 Samuel 22:18–19; 1 Samuel 9:11; Matthew 26:4
- 16 Psalm 34:19; Psalm 37:24; Micah 7:8–10; Job 5:19; 2 Corinthians 4:8–12
- 17 Obadiah 12; Job 31:29; 1 Corinthians 13:6–7; Proverbs 17:5; 2 Samuel 16:5–14
- 18 Lamentations 4:21–22; Zechariah 1:15–16
- 19 Proverbs 23:17; Psalm 37:1; Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 13:20; Proverbs 24:1
- 20 Proverbs 13:9; Job 18:5–6; Job 21:17; Psalm 11:6; Proverbs 20:20
- 21 Romans 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17; Titus 3:1; 1 Kings 12:16; Exodus 14:31
- 22 Numbers 16:31–35; Psalm 90:11; 2 Samuel 18:7–8; Hosea 5:11; 2 Chronicles 13:16–17
- 23 Proverbs 28:21; Proverbs 18:5; James 3:17; Leviticus 19:15; Psalm 107:43
- 24 Proverbs 17:15; Isaiah 5:23; Proverbs 11:26; Exodus 23:6–7; Proverbs 28:27
- 25 1 Timothy 5:20; 1 Samuel 3:13; Proverbs 28:23; Nehemiah 13:8–11; 1 Kings 21:19–20
- 26 Proverbs 15:23; Genesis 41:38–57; Proverbs 25:11–12; Job 6:25; Proverbs 16:1
- 27 Luke 14:28–30; 1 Kings 5:17–18; 1 Kings 6:7
- 28 Ephesians 4:25; Matthew 26:59–60; Proverbs 25:18; 1 Kings 21:9–13; Colossians 3:9
- 29 Romans 12:17–21; Proverbs 20:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Matthew 5:39–44; Proverbs 25:21–22
- 30 Proverbs 12:11; Proverbs 6:6–19; Ecclesiastes 8:9–11; Job 4:8; Proverbs 10:13
- 31 Isaiah 5:5; Ecclesiastes 10:18; Genesis 3:17–19; Jeremiah 4:3; Proverbs 22:13
- 32 1 Corinthians 10:11; Deuteronomy 21:21; Luke 2:51; 1 Corinthians 10:6; Job 7:17
- 33 Proverbs 6:4–11; 1 Thessalonians 5:6–8; Romans 13:11; Ephesians 5:14
- 34 Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 13:4
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
On this account it is often put for all numbers together, as, "A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again," --that is, let him fall never so often, he will not perish (and this was meant to be understood not of sins, but of afflictions conducing to lowliness).
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For no other reason it was said, "a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:" that is, the just man perisheth not, though brought low in every way, yet not induced to transgress, otherwise he will not be just.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
But "God strengtheneth." For "the just falleth seven times, and riseth again; but the wicked shall be weakened in evils." When evils befall the wicked, they are weakened thereby; when evils befall the righteous, "the Lord strengtheneth all that are falling."..."And lifteth up all those that have been cast down:" all, that is, who belong to him; for "God resisteth …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)