VerseAI

NIV

Proverbs 24

  1. 1<pb/><t>Do not envy the wicked,</t> <t>do not desire their company;</t>
  2. 2<t>for their hearts plot violence,</t> <t>and their lips talk about making trouble.</t>
  3. 3<t>By wisdom a house is built,</t> <t>and through understanding it is established;</t>
  4. 4<t>through knowledge its rooms are filled</t> <t>with rare and beautiful treasures.</t>
  5. 5<t>The wise prevail through great power,</t> <t>and those who have knowledge muster their strength.</t>
  6. 6<t>Surely you need guidance to wage war,</t> <t>and victory is won through many advisers.</t>
  7. 7<t>Wisdom is too high for fools;</t> <t>in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.</t>
  8. 8<t>Whoever plots evil</t> <t>will be known as a schemer.</t>
  9. 9<t>The schemes of folly are sin,</t> <t>and people detest a mocker.</t>
  10. 10<t>If you falter in a time of trouble,</t> <t>how small is your strength!</t>
  11. 11<t>Rescue those being led away to death;</t> <t>hold back those staggering toward slaughter.</t>
  12. 12<t>If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”</t> <t>does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?</t> <t>Does not he who guards your life know it?</t> <t>Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?</t>
  13. 13<t>Eat honey, my son, for it is good;</t> <t>honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.</t>
  14. 14<t>Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:</t> <t>If you find it, there is a future hope for you,</t> <t>and your hope will not be cut off.</t>
  15. 15<t>Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,</t> <t>do not plunder their dwelling place;</t>
  16. 16<t>for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,</t> <t>but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.</t>
  17. 17<t>Do not gloat when your enemy falls;</t> <t>when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,</t>
  18. 18<t>or the LORD will see and disapprove</t> <t>and turn his wrath away from them.</t>
  19. 19<t>Do not fret because of evildoers</t> <t>or be envious of the wicked,</t>
  20. 20<t>for the evildoer has no future hope,</t> <t>and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.</t>
  21. 21<t>Fear the LORD and the king, my son,</t> <t>and do not join with rebellious officials,</t>
  22. 22<t>for those two will send sudden destruction on them,</t> <t>and who knows what calamities they can bring?</t>
  23. 23<pb/>These also are sayings of the wise: <pb/><t>To show partiality in judging is not good:</t>
  24. 24<t>Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”</t> <t>will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.</t>
  25. 25<t>But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,</t> <t>and rich blessing will come on them. <pb/></t>
  26. 26<t>An honest answer</t> <t>is like a kiss on the lips. <pb/></t>
  27. 27<t>Put your outdoor work in order</t> <t>and get your fields ready;</t> <t>after that, build your house. <pb/></t>
  28. 28<t>Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—</t> <t>would you use your lips to mislead?</t>
  29. 29<t>Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;</t> <t>I’ll pay them back for what they did.” <pb/></t>
  30. 30<t>I went past the field of a sluggard,</t> <t>past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;</t>
  31. 31<t>thorns had come up everywhere,</t> <t>the ground was covered with weeds,</t> <t>and the stone wall was in ruins.</t>
  32. 32<t>I applied my heart to what I observed</t> <t>and learned a lesson from what I saw:</t>
  33. 33<t>A little sleep, a little slumber,</t> <t>a little folding of the hands to rest—</t>
  34. 34<t>and poverty will come on you like a thief</t> <t>and scarcity like an armed man.</t>