Proverbs 24 is the 24th chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] This chapter specifically records "the sayings of wise".
The following table shows the Hebrew text[2] [3] of Proverbs 24 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Be not thou envious of evil men, Neither desire to be with them. | ||
| 2 | For their heart studieth destruction, And their lips talk of mischief. | ||
| 3 | Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; | ||
| 4 | And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. | ||
| 5 | A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. | ||
| 6 | For with wise advice thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. | ||
| 7 | Wisdom is as unattainable to a fool as corals; He openeth not his mouth in the gate. | ||
| 8 | He that deviseth to do evil, Men shall call him a mischievous person. | ||
| 9 | The thought of foolishness is sin; And the scorner is an abomination to men. | ||
| 10 | If thou faint in the day of adversity, Thy strength is small indeed. | ||
| 11 | Deliver them that are drawn unto death; And those that are ready to be slain wilt thou forbear to rescue? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 13 | My son, eat thou honey, for it is good, And the honeycomb is sweet to thy 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. | ||
| 15 | Lie not in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, Spoil not his resting-place; | ||
| 16 | For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, But the wicked stumble under adversity. | ||
| 17 | Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth; | ||
| 18 | Lest the LORD 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; | ||
| 20 | For there will be no future to the evil man, The lamp of the wicked shall be put out. | ||
| 21 | My son, fear thou the LORD and the king, And meddle not with them that are given to change; | ||
| 22 | For their calamity shall rise suddenly; And who knoweth the ruin from them both? | ||
| 23 | These also are sayings of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good. | ||
| 24 | He that saith unto the wicked: ‘Thou art righteous’, Peoples shall curse him, nations shall execrate him; | ||
| 25 | But to them that decide justly shall be delight, And a good blessing shall come upon them. | ||
| 26 | He kisseth the lips That giveth a right answer. | ||
| 27 | Prepare thy work without, And make it fit for thyself in the field; And afterwards build thy house. | ||
| 28 | Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; And deceive not with thy 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.’ | ||
| 30 | I went by the field of the slothful, And 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. | ||
| 32 | Then I beheld, and considered well; I saw, and received instruction. | ||
| 33 | ’Yet 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. |
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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Verses 1–22 is a part of the third collection in the book of Proverbs (comprising Proverbs 22:17–24:22), which consists of seven instructions of various lengths:
The sayings are predominantly in the form of synonymous parallelism, preceded by a general superscription of the entire collection in 22:17a: "The words of the wise" (or "Sayings of the Wise"). This collection consists of an introduction that the youths should be instructed and exhorted to listen to and obey their "teachers" (parents), followed by a series of admonitions and prohibitions coupled with a variety of clauses, primarily presented in short parental instructions (cf. 23:15, 22; 24:13, 21).
The remaining verses of this chapter (24:23–34) form the fourth collection in the book, introduced by a superscription "These also are sayings of the wise" (24:23a).
This section concludes a collection titled "Sayings of the Wise" (22:17), with 3 sets of instruction, one as a continuation from Proverbs 23:16.until 24:12, followed by 24:13–20 and 24:21–22. The instructions are likely given by a teacher in the context of a royal school during the monarchical period. The Greek Septuagint version contains five additional verses after verse 22, mainly on 'the wrath ofthe king'.
Through wisdom is a house built
and by understanding it is established;[4] The 'building of the house' in verses 3-4 parallels to the building of the house by woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9:1, here stating that wisdom is 'the key to the prosperity of the family', as well as 'the key to healthy and harmonious family relationships'.
For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.[5]
The whole section is the fourth collection in the book of Proverbs, consisting of:
The first part of the collection (verses 23–29) contains warnings against partiality when judging (verses 23–25) or false testimony when being a witness (verse 28; cf. 18:5; 28:21). The second part (verses 30–34) provides an example story of being lazy and its consequences (cf. 7:6–23) reinforcing the lesson of the dilligent ant in 6:10-11. The instruction is given as such so it can be perceived 'through the eye as well as the ear' ('saw... considered... received instruction', verse 32).
Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.[7]
The fry boats' bottom of In-N-Out Burger has the text "PROVERBS 24:16", which refers to the 16th verse of this chapter.[8]
. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .
. Michael V. Fox . Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries . Yale University Press . 2009 . 978-0300155563.
. Henry Hampton Halley. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary . 24th (revised). Zondervan Publishing House . 1965 . 0-310-25720-4.