Proverbs 24

MSG — The Message Bible (MSG)

NLT — New Living Translation Bible (NLT)

Verse 1

^1-2Don’t envy bad people;
don’t even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
all they talk about is making trouble.

20

Don’t envy evil people
or desire their company.

Verse 2

— not in MSG

For their hearts plot violence,
and their words always stir up trouble.

Verse 3

It takes wisdom to build a house,
and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms
with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.

21

A house is built by wisdom
and becomes strong through good sense.

Verse 4

— not in MSG

Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

Verse 5

It’s better to be wise than strong;
intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

22

The wise are mightier than the strong,^[a]
and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

Verse 6

— not in MSG

So don’t go to war without wise guidance;
victory depends on having many advisers.

Verse 7

Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.

23

Wisdom is too lofty for fools.
Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

Verse 8

The person who’s always cooking up some evil
soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
Fools incubate sin;
cynics desecrate beauty.

Rescue the Perishing

24

A person who plans evil
will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

Verse 9

— not in MSG

The schemes of a fool are sinful;
everyone detests a mocker.

Verse 10

If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

25

If you fail under pressure,
your strength is too small.

Verse 11

Rescue the perishing;
    don’t hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”
    will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know—
    Someone not impressed with weak excuses.

26

Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.

Verse 12

— not in MSG

Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

Verse 13

Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—
    and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
Likewise knowledge,
    and wisdom for your soul—
Get that and your future’s secured,
    your hope is on solid rock.

27

My child,^[b] eat honey, for it is good,
and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

Verse 14

— not in MSG

In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
If you find it, you will have a bright future,
and your hopes will not be cut short.

Verse 15

Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;
    don’t try to get the best of them.
No matter how many times you trip them up,
    God-loyal people don’t stay down long;
Soon they’re up on their feet,
    while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

28

Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly,
and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

Verse 16

— not in MSG

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

Verse 17

Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;
don’t crow over his collapse.
God might see, and become very provoked,
and then take pity on his plight.

29

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
don’t be happy when they stumble.

Verse 18

— not in MSG

For the Lord will be displeased with you
and will turn his anger away from them.

Verse 19

Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
Those people have no future at all;
they’re headed down a dead-end street.

30

Don’t fret because of evildoers;
don’t envy the wicked.

Verse 20

— not in MSG

For evil people have no future;
the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

Verse 21

Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;
don’t be defiant or mutinous.
Without warning your life can turn upside down,
and who knows how or when it might happen?

More Sayings of the Wise

An Honest Answer

My child, fear the Lord and the king.
Don’t associate with rebels,

Verse 22

— not in MSG

for disaster will hit them suddenly.
Who knows what punishment will come
from the Lord and the king?

More Sayings of the Wise

Verse 23

It’s wrong, very wrong,
to go along with injustice.

Here are some further sayings of the wise:

It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

Verse 24

Whoever whitewashes the wicked
gets a black mark in the history books,
But whoever exposes the wicked
will be thanked and rewarded.

A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

Verse 25

— not in MSG

But it will go well for those who convict the guilty;
rich blessings will be showered on them.

Verse 26

An honest answer
is like a warm hug.

An honest answer
is like a kiss of friendship.

Verse 27

First plant your fields;
then build your barn.

Do your planning and prepare your fields
before building your house.

Verse 28

Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs—
no slander or gossip, please.
Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me.
I’ll make you pay for what you did!”

Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause;
don’t lie about them.

Verse 29

— not in MSG

And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me!
I’ll get even with them!”

Verse 30

One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,
    and then passed the vineyard of a lout;
They were overgrown with weeds,
    thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
I took a long look and pondered what I saw;
    the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
    with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.

Verse 31

— not in MSG

I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.

Verse 32

— not in MSG

Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:

Verse 33

— not in MSG

A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—

Verse 34

— not in MSG

then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.