Proverbs 24

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Proverbs 24 warns against envying evil men, instead promoting wisdom as the foundation for strength, prosperity, and righteous living. It emphasizes the duty to deliver those in peril and to exercise impartial judgment, while cautioning against rejoicing in an enemy's misfortune. The chapter also highlights the severe consequences of slothfulness, urging diligence and preparation.

Do Not Envy Wicked Men 1–2

¶ Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.

For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

Wisdom Builds and Establishes 3–6

¶ Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:

And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

The Folly of Evil and Sloth 7–10

¶ Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.

He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.

The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

¶ If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

Deliver Those Drawn to Death 11–12

¶ If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;

If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart 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?

The Sweetness and Reward of Wisdom 13–14

¶ My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

The Resilience of the Righteous 15–16

¶ Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Do Not Rejoice at an Enemy's Fall 17–20

¶ Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

¶ Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;

For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

Fear God and Honor the King 21–22

¶ My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

Further Sayings of the Wise 23–29

¶ These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.

Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

¶ Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

¶ Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

Observation of the Slothful Man’s Field 30–34

¶ I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Proverbs 24

Verse 1

Be not thou envious against evil men — Qanah, to envy or be jealous, is the verb of 3:31, 'Envy thou not the oppressor', and 23:17, 'Let not thine heart envy sinners'. The warning returns in v.19, 'Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked', and v.2 gives the reason: 'their heart studieth destruction'.

Verse 3

Through wisdom is an house builded — Wisdom (chokmah), understanding (tebunah) and 'established' (kun) are the words of 3:19, 'The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens'. A 'house' (bayit) is a household as well as a building, and v.4 fills its chambers 'with all precious and pleasant riches'.

Verse 6

in multitude of counsellors there is safety — 'Wise counsel' is tachbulah, direction or steering, a word found five times in Proverbs (1:5; 11:14; 12:5; 20:18; 24:6) and once in Job 37:12. 'Safety' is teshuah, deliverance, as in 11:14; yet 21:31 adds that for the day of battle 'safety is of the LORD'. Luke 14:31 gives the same prudence to a king.

Verse 7

he openeth not his mouth in the gate — The gate (sha'ar) was the place of judgment: Boaz went 'up to the gate' and took 'ten men of the elders of the city' to settle a matter there (Ruth 4:1–2), and Amos 5:15 says 'establish judgment in the gate'. Wisdom stands 'too high' (ruwm) for the fool, so he has no word where cases are decided.

Verse 9

The thought of foolishness is sin — Zimmah is a plan, usually a wicked one; it is the 'wicked mind' of 21:27, where even a sacrifice brought with it is abomination. The sin is in the scheme before any deed, as Christ says, 'out of the heart proceed evil thoughts' (Matt 15:19). The scorner (luts) is the one who scoffs.

Verse 10

If thou faint in the day of adversity — A play on sound: 'adversity' is tsarah and 'small' is tsar, both from the root for narrow and tight. 'Faint' is raphah, to slacken, the verb of 'I will not fail thee' (Josh 1:5). The strength in view is that of v.5, 'A wise man is strong'.

Verse 11

drawn unto death — 'Deliver' is natsal, to snatch away, the verb of Ps 82:4, 'rid them out of the hand of the wicked'. 'Forbear' is chasak, to hold back, the verb of Gen 22:12, 'thou hast not withheld thy son'. Those 'ready to be slain' are the ones for whom 31:8 says 'Open thy mouth', and v.12 closes off the excuse of not knowing.

Verse 12

he that pondereth the heart — Tachan, to weigh, is used of the LORD in 21:2, 'the LORD pondereth the hearts', and 16:2, 'the LORD weigheth the spirits'. 'Render… according to his works' is the line Paul states in Rom 2:6, 'Who will render to every man according to his deeds'. The same two words reappear in v.29, spoken by a man claiming that office.

Verse 13

eat thou honey — The honey is wisdom: v.14 goes on, 'So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul'. The pair 'honey and the honeycomb' is that of Ps 19:10, where the LORD's judgments are 'sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb'. Nopheth, honeycomb, occurs only five times (Ps 19:10; Prov 5:3; 24:13; 27:7; Song 4:11).

Verse 14

thy expectation shall not be cut off — The line is that of 23:18, 'there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off'. 'Reward' here is the same word as 'end' there, acharith, what comes afterward, and 'expectation' is tiqvah, hope. Wisdom once found has a future in it.

Verse 15

spoil not his resting place — The two nouns are shepherd's words. Naveh (dwelling) and rebets (resting place) stand together in Isa 65:10, 'a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me'. The righteous man's home is pictured as a fold, and the wicked man is the one who lies in wait at it.

Verse 16

a just man falleth seven times — Seven rounds out a count of troubles, as in Job 5:19, 'He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven'. The just man 'falleth' (naphal) and 'riseth up' (qum), as in Mic 7:8, 'when I fall, I shall arise'; the wicked 'fall' (kashal, stumble) into evil. The LORD 'upholdeth him with his hand' (Ps 37:24).

Verse 17

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth — 'Stumbleth' is kashal, the same verb as the wicked's fall in v.16, so the verse bars gloating over the very thing that overtakes the wicked. v.18 gives the reason: 'Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him'. Obadiah 12 charges Edom with rejoicing 'in the day of their destruction'.

Verse 21

fear thou the LORD and the king — The LORD is named first, then the king; 1 Pet 2:17 keeps the order, 'Fear God. Honour the king.' 'Meddle' is arab, to mingle or associate, as in 20:19, 'meddle not with him that flattereth'. 'Them that are given to change' (shanah) are those who alter things; v.22 says 'their calamity shall rise suddenly'.

Verse 23

respect of persons in judgment — 'These things also belong to the wise' begins a second group of sayings after 'the words of the wise' in 22:17. 'Respect' is nakar, to look at and recognise, and 'persons' is panim, faces: the judge is not to judge by the face. The same ruling stands in Deut 1:17, 'Ye shall not respect persons in judgment', and Prov 28:21.

Verse 24

Thou art righteous — To say it of the wicked is to reverse the judge's task: 'He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD' (17:15). God says, 'I will not justify the wicked' (Ex 23:7). The people 'curse' (naqab) him, the verb of 11:26, 'the people shall curse him' who withholds corn.

Verse 27

afterwards build thine house — 'Prepare' is kun, the verb of 'established' in v.3, and 'build' and 'house' are v.3's words too: the field comes first, then the household. To 'build the house' can mean founding a family (Ruth 4:11, 'Rachel and… Leah, which two did build the house of Israel'). Luke 14:28 likewise counts the cost before building.

Verse 29

I will render to the man according to his work — 'Render' (shuv) and 'work' (po'al) are the words of v.12, where God 'shall… render to every man according to his works'. The speaker takes up God's office. The command matches 20:22, 'Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD', and Rom 12:19, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord'.

Verse 30

the field of the slothful — 'Slothful' is atsel, the sluggard of 6:6, 'Go to the ant, thou sluggard'. 'Void of understanding' is literally 'lacking of heart' (chasar lev), the phrase of 6:32 and 7:7. The speaker passes by and, as v.32 says, 'considered it well… and received instruction': thorns, nettles and a broken wall (v.31).

Verse 33

a little folding of the hands — These words are the same, word for word, as 6:10, 'Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep'. 'A little' (me'at) is said three times. The sluggard asks for brief delays, and v.34 shows what the delays accumulate.

Verse 34

as an armed man — The verse is the same, word for word, as 6:11. Poverty comes 'as one that travelleth' (halak, walks); 'want' (machsor) follows 'as an armed man' (ish magen, a man with a shield). What the sluggard asked for in v.33 as 'a little' ends in lack.