Proverbs 24

EasyEnglish Bible

More wise thoughts

24 19. Do not be jealous of evil people. Do not try to be friends with them. ² They only think about how to cause trouble. They only speak to be cruel.

³ 20. It is wisdom that helps a man to build a house.^[a] The house will have a strong foundation if he understands what is right. ⁴ Knowledge will help him to fill its rooms with beautiful and valuable things.

⁵ 21. A wise man is better than a brave soldier. If a man learns knowledge, he will become stronger. ⁶ If you receive good advice before you fight a battle, you will win against your enemy.

⁷ 22. A fool cannot understand wisdom. He has nothing to say when leaders meet.

⁸ 23. If anyone has ideas to do evil things, people will know that he always causes trouble.

⁹ If you decide to do something foolish, that is a sin. People hate anyone who laughs at others.

¹⁰ 24. If you stop trying in times of trouble, you are really very weak.

¹¹ 25. You should rescue people who are in danger of death. ¹² You may say, ‘We did not know what was happening.’ But God knows your thoughts. He carefully watches your life and he knows what you are doing. He will pay back to you whatever you deserve.

¹³ 26. My child, honey is good for you, so eat it. It is sweet on your tongue when you taste it.

¹⁴ In the same way, wisdom is also good for you. If you find wisdom, it will help you in life. The things that you hope for in the future will surely happen.

¹⁵ 27. Do not be like wicked people who attack righteous people. Do not try to rob the homes of honest people. ¹⁶ If an honest person falls down seven times, he will still stand up again. But when trouble comes to a wicked person, that is the end of him.

¹⁷ 28. Do not shout with joy when your enemy falls down. Do not be happy when his foot slips. ¹⁸ The Lord will know what you are thinking, and he will not be happy. He may decide not to punish your enemy.

¹⁹ 29. Do not have trouble in your mind because of evil people. Do not be jealous of them. ²⁰ A wicked person has nothing to hope for in the future. His life will end suddenly.

²¹ 30. My child, respect and obey the Lord, and the king too. Do not be friends with people who turn against them. ²² Both the Lord and the king have the power to give strong punishment. In a moment they can destroy people who turn against them.

More wise thoughts

²³ These are more things that wise people have said:

When you judge people, be fair. It is not good to respect some people more than others. ²⁴ A judge must not say to a guilty person, ‘You are not guilty.’ If he does say that, everyone will curse him. People of all nations will say that he is bad. ²⁵ When judges decide to punish a guilty person, they will be happy, because God will bless them.

²⁶ Somebody who gives you an honest answer is your true friend.

²⁷ Finish your work outside and prepare your fields. After that, you can build your house.

²⁸ If you do not know what is true, do not speak against your neighbour in court. Do not deceive people with what you say. ²⁹ Do not say, ‘I will do to him the same thing that he did to me. I will punish him because of what he did.’

³⁰ I walked past the field of a lazy person. And I walked past the vineyard of a stupid person. ³¹ There were weeds and thorn bushes over all the ground. The wall of stones round the field had fallen down. ³² I looked at this and I thought about it carefully. I learned a lesson from the things that I had seen:

³³ You may say, ‘I will have a short sleep. I will rest quietly for a while.’ ³⁴ But while you sleep you will suddenly become poor. You will have nothing, as if someone has robbed you.