Proverbs 24

Rescue Those Being Taken Away to Death

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Proverbs is read here in the order of the Greek text: chapters 1–24:22, then 30:1–14, 24:23–34, 30:15–33, 31:1–9, chapters 25–29, and 31:10–31.

24:1Son, do not envy evil men,
and do not desire to be with them;

24:2for their heart meditates lies,
and their lips speak toils.

24:3With wisdom a house is built,
and with understanding it is raised upright;

24:4with discernment store-rooms are filled
from every precious and good wealth.

24:5A wise person is better than a strong one,
and a man with understanding than a great cultivated estate;

24:6with steering war takes place,
and help is with a deliberative heart.

24:7Wisdom and good reflection are in the gates of the wise;
the wise do not turn from the mouth of the Lord,

24:8but deliberate in councils.
Death meets the uneducated,

24:9and a fool dies in sins;
and impurity will be defiled in a pestilent man,

24:10on an evil day and on a day of affliction,
until he fails.

24:11Rescue those being led to death,
and ransom those being killed; do not hold back.

24:12But if you say, “I do not know this person,”
know that the Lord knows everyone’s hearts,
and the One who fashioned breath for all Himself knows everything,
and repays each one according to his works.

24:13Eat honey, son, for a honeycomb is good,
so that your throat may be sweetened;

24:14in this way you will perceive wisdom for your own life;
for if you find it, your end will be good,
and hope will not abandon you.

24:15Do not bring an impious person to the pasture of the righteous,
and do not be deceived by a filled belly;

24:16for the righteous will fall seven times and rise,
but the impious will grow weak amid evils.

24:17If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him,
and at his tripping do not lift yourself up,

24:18for the Lord will see, and it will not please Him,
and He will turn His wrath away from him.

24:19Do not rejoice over evildoers,
and do not envy sinners;

24:20for evil people will certainly have no offspring,
and the lamp of the impious will be extinguished.

24:21Fear God, son, and the king,
and disobey neither of them;

24:22for suddenly they will punish the impious,
and who will know the punishments of both?

24:22aA son who guards a word will be outside destruction,
and receiving it, he has received it.

24:22bLet no falsehood from a tongue be spoken to a king,
and no falsehood will ever come from his tongue.

24:22cA king’s tongue is a sword and is not made of flesh,
and whoever is handed over will be crushed;

24:22dfor if his wrath is sharpened,
it consumes human beings with their sinews,

24:22eand devours human bones,
and burns them together like a flame,
so that they are inedible to young eagles.

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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.