Proverbs · Majority Standard Bible
Proverbs 24 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
1 Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.
2 for their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about mischief.
3 By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
3 Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
5 A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
5 A wise man has great power. A knowledgeable man increases strength,
6 Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
6 for by wise guidance you wage your war, and victory is in many advisors.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.
8 He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
8 One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
9 A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
9 The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
10 If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
10 If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.
11 Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
11 Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
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 Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste;
14 Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never 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 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy 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 though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
16 for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,
18 or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.
18 lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
19 Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked;
20 For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
20 for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
21 My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious,
22 For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
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 show partiality in judgment is not good.
23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
25 but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
25 but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
27 Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay 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 past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
30 I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall 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 I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
32 Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
33 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
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)