Do Not Envy Evil Men
24 Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2 For their heart devises violence,
And their lips talk of troublemaking.
3 Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong,
Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 He who plots to do evil
Will be called a [a]schemer.
9 The devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
13 My son, eat honey because it is good,
And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
If you have found it, there is a [b]prospect,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not plunder his resting place;
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Lest the Lord see it, and [c]it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those given to change;
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin those two can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These things also belong to the wise:
It is not good to [d]show partiality in judgment.
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Him the people will curse;
Nations will abhor him.
25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
27 Prepare your outside work,
Make it fit for yourself in the field;
And afterward build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
[e]For would you deceive with your lips?
29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
30 I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 So shall your poverty come like [f]a prowler,
And your need like [g]an armed man.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:8 Lit. master of evil plots
- Proverbs 24:14 Lit. latter end
- Proverbs 24:18 Lit. it be evil in His eyes
- Proverbs 24:23 Lit. recognize faces
- Proverbs 24:28 LXX, Vg. Do not deceive
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit. one who walks about
- Proverbs 24:34 Lit. a man with a shield
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We are not promised a perfect and easy life if we follow Jesus and live according to his ways. We live in a world that has fallen to corruption and sin, but it is a world that has been saved and redeemed by Jesus Christ on the cross. He will return soon and make all things new and all things right. But in this time, the righteous can expect trial, especially at the hands of the unrighteous….
This chapter talks about God looking after the righteous, and He upholds them with His righteous right hand. It is not that they are never allowed to experience trouble, hardship, or suffering, for they will. But by faith they will continue to persevere in love, hope, and good deeds no matter how many times they are opposed, persecuted, and insulted. No attack or plot of the wicked can make a Christian stop loving Christ, stop hoping in heaven, stop believing and preaching the gospel, and stop loving even those who are doing the persecuting. The wicked have nothing to hold onto when they fall into trouble, for God is not on their side. The wicked will pay for attacking the righteous, but the righteous have a heavenly dwelling to look forward to even if their earthly resting places are destroyed.
This chapter tells us not to envy evil men. It also describes the fear of God and elaborates the importance of wisdom.
When troubles and trials come, we need to be as Stephen and stand firm for what is right. If our faith is not strong enough to scale through trials then people start to ask “where is your God?”
If it is in our power to help and we don’t help someone in desperate need, God will not hold us blameless. God knows the intents of our heart.
We will receive the same type of treatment from God that we have given your fellowman.
We are told also, to feed our enemies when they are hungry. We are not to get even when someone does us wrong. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.
Wisdom is a gift from God. Wisdom and Godliness go hand in hand.
A fool is so busy being foolish that he does not even pray and seek wisdom. The wise could even counsel the fool, and the fool would not realize that it was good counsel.
The wise follow after God and his teaching, and the fool goes the way of the flesh.
Since he was speaking about “the gate”, we know that the leading minds were there debating the issues of life, and it was no place for fools.
A person who deviseth to do evil is a person who is planning some evil scheme to beat someone else. This evil person never tries to work and get ahead, he just figures up evil ways to trick others out of what they have worked for. In this, evil thoughts become evil deeds and show the mischievous ways of the evil one.
Jesus said to desire to sin in your heart is a sin just as if you had already committed the sin. The heart will be judged even more than the deeds of man.
The rejecters of good Christian principles are themselves rejected of the righteous. Those who turn their backs on God are a terrible reproach (abomination) to the righteous
This chapter is telling us to have wisdom In dealing with people and also seek knowledge and understanding. It’s okay to wish yourself good but dont be envious of people to the extent of been desperate cos you dont know how tey got to where they are. Work while you still have the strength to in order to be able to rest later.
Do t relent especially when facing challenges cos that is the time your strength and faith will be tested.