Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24 is the 24th chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Template:Sfn The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period.Template:Sfn This chapter specifically records "the sayings of wise".Template:Sfn

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text 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	Template:Script/Hebrew	Be not thou envious of evil men, Neither desire to be with them.
2	Template:Script/Hebrew	For their heart studieth destruction, And their lips talk of mischief.
3	Template:Script/Hebrew	Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established;
4	Template:Script/Hebrew	And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches.
5	Template:Script/Hebrew	A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6	Template:Script/Hebrew	For with wise advice thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7	Template:Script/Hebrew	Wisdom is as unattainable to a fool as corals; He openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8	Template:Script/Hebrew	He that deviseth to do evil, Men shall call him a mischievous person.
9	Template:Script/Hebrew	The thought of foolishness is sin; And the scorner is an abomination to men.
10	Template:Script/Hebrew	If thou faint in the day of adversity, Thy strength is small indeed.
11	Template:Script/Hebrew	Deliver them that are drawn unto death; And those that are ready to be slain wilt thou forbear to rescue?
12	Template:Script/Hebrew	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	Template:Script/Hebrew	My son, eat thou honey, for it is good, And the honeycomb is sweet to thy taste;
14	Template:Script/Hebrew	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	Template:Script/Hebrew	Lie not in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, Spoil not his resting-place;
16	Template:Script/Hebrew	For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, But the wicked stumble under adversity.
17	Template:Script/Hebrew	Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
18	Template:Script/Hebrew	Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.
19	Template:Script/Hebrew	Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious at the wicked;
20	Template:Script/Hebrew	For there will be no future to the evil man, The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
21	Template:Script/Hebrew	My son, fear thou the LORD and the king, And meddle not with them that are given to change;
22	Template:Script/Hebrew	For their calamity shall rise suddenly; And who knoweth the ruin from them both?
23	Template:Script/Hebrew	These also are sayings of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
24	Template:Script/Hebrew	He that saith unto the wicked: ‘Thou art righteous’, Peoples shall curse him, nations shall execrate him;
25	Template:Script/Hebrew	But to them that decide justly shall be delight, And a good blessing shall come upon them.
26	Template:Script/Hebrew	He kisseth the lips That giveth a right answer.
27	Template:Script/Hebrew	Prepare thy work without, And make it fit for thyself in the field; And afterwards build thy house.
28	Template:Script/Hebrew	Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; And deceive not with thy lips.
29	Template:Script/Hebrew	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	Template:Script/Hebrew	I went by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31	Template:Script/Hebrew	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	Template:Script/Hebrew	Then I beheld, and considered well; I saw, and received instruction.
33	Template:Script/Hebrew	’Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep’—
34	Template:Script/Hebrew	So shall thy poverty come as a runner, And thy want as an armed man.

Textual witnesses

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).Template:Sfn

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; $𝔊$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: $𝔊$^S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; $𝔊$^A; 5th century).Template:Sfn

Analysis

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:Template:Sfn

• 1st instruction (22:17–23:11)
• 2nd instruction (23:12–18)
• 3rd instruction (23:19–21)
• 4th instruction (23:22–25)
• 5th instruction (23:26–24:12)
• 6th instruction (24:13–20) and
• 7th instruction (24:21–22)

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").Template:Sfn 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,Template:Sfn primarily presented in short parental instructions (cf. 23:15, 22; 24:13, 21).Template:Sfn

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).Template:Sfn

Template:AnchorSayings of the Wise (24:1–22)

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.Template:Sfn The instructions are likely given by a teacher in the context of a royal school during the monarchical period.Template:Sfn The Greek Septuagint version contains five additional verses after verse 22, mainly on 'the wrath of the king'.Template:Sfn

Verse 3

Through wisdom is a house built

and by understanding it is established;

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'.Template:Sfn

Verse 16

For a righteous man may fall seven times

And rise again,

But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

• "For": is translated from the Hebrew clause Template:Lang, ki, which position at the beginning of the sentence could be interpreted as 'temporal, conditional, or emphatic'; that is 'the righteous keep getting up and going again'

Template:AnchorFurther sayings of the Wise (24:23–34)

The whole section is the fourth collection in the book of Proverbs, consisting of:Template:Sfn

• a superscription (24:23a; "These also are sayings of the wise")
• a discourse on judgment (24:23b-26, 28–29), and
• an autobiographical discourse on household labor (24:27, 30–34).Template:Sfn

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).Template:Sfn 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 diligent 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).Template:Sfn

Verse 28

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.

• "Without cause": this expression could mean 'without necessity' (mischievously) or 'without grounds' (falsely), either of them amounts to perjury (verse 28b).Template:Sfn

Uses

The fry boats' bottom of In-N-Out Burger has the text "PROVERBS 24:16", which refers to the 16th verse of this chapter.

See also

• Related Bible parts: Psalm 7, Proverbs 9, Proverbs 18, Proverbs 22, Proverbs 23, Proverbs 28

Sources

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External links

• Jewish translations:
  • Mishlei - Proverbs - Chapter 24 (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
• Book of Proverbs Chapter 24 King James Version
• Template:Librivox book Various versions