Parallel Bible results for "proverbs 24"

Proverbs 24

ESV

MSG

1 Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,
1 Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.
2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.
2 All they think about is causing a disturbance; all they talk about is making trouble.
3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
3 It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
4 It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.
5 A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
5 It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day.
6 for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
6 Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools; in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.
8 Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer.
8 The person who's always cooking up some evil soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
9 The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
9 Fools incubate sin; cynics desecrate beauty. Rescue the Perishing
10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
11 Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help.
12 If you say, "Behold, we did not know this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
12 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.
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
13 Eat honey, dear child - it's good for you - and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
14 Likewise knowledge, and wisdom for your soul - Get that and your future's secured, your hope is on solid rock.
15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;
15 Don't interfere with good people's lives; don't try to get the best of them.
16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
16 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.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
17 Don't laugh when your enemy falls; don't crow over his collapse.
18 lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
18 God might see, and become very provoked, and then take pity on his plight.
19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked,
19 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
20 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
20 Those people have no future at all; they're headed down a dead-end street.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,
21 Fear God, dear child - respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous.
22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
22 Without warning your life can turn upside-down, and who knows how or when it might happen?
23 These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good.
23 It's wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.
24 Whoever says to the wicked, "You are in the right," will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
24 Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books,
25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.
25 But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded.
26 Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.
26 An honest answer is like a warm hug.
27 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
27 First plant your fields; then build your barn.
28 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
28 Don't talk about your neighbors behind their backs - no slander or gossip, please.
29 Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done."
29 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!"
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
30 One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout;
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
31 They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.
32 I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
33 "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?
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
34 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!"
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.