Proverbs 24

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Proverbs 24 presents a collection of sayings regarding wisdom, foolishness, and daily conduct, beginning with instructions to avoid wicked people and use wisdom, knowledge, and guidance for building houses and waging war. The text instructs the reader to rescue those led away to death, consume honey as a metaphor for the sweetness of wisdom, and refrain from attacking the dwelling of the righteous or gloating over an enemy's fall. Further instructions warn against associating with the rebellious, showing partiality in judgment, testifying falsely against neighbors, and seeking personal retaliation. The chapter concludes with an observation of the neglected field and vineyard of a slacker, where overgrown thorns and a broken stone wall demonstrate the consequences of sleep and rest resulting in sudden poverty.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Do not envy wicked men or desire their company; ²for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble. ³By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; ⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure. ⁵A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength. ⁶Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors. ⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place. ⁸He who plots evil will be called a schemer. ⁹A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men. ¹⁰If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength! ¹¹Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter. ¹²If 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? ¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. ¹⁴Know 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. ¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place. ¹⁶For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times. ¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, ¹⁸or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him. ¹⁹Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked. ²⁰For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished. ²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious. ²²For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring? ²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good. ²⁴Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him; ²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them. ²⁶An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips. ²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house. ²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. ²⁹Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.” ³⁰I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. ³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. ³²I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: ³³A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.