New Living Translation NLT
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.
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Be not envious of evil men, And desire not to be with them.
2 For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.
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For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.
3 A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.
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By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself.
4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
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And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, [With] all precious and pleasant wealth.
5 The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
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Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
6 So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.
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For by plans thou makest for thyself war, And deliverance [is] in a multitude of counsellors.
7 Wisdom is too lofty for fools. Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.
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Wisdom [is] high for a fool, In the gate he openeth not his mouth.
8 A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.
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Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.
9 The schemes of a fool are sinful; everyone detests a mocker.
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The thought of folly [is] sin, And an abomination to man [is] a scorner.
10 If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.
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Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,
11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.
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If [from] delivering those taken to death, And those slipping to the slaughter -- thou keepest back.
12 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.
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When thou sayest, `Lo, we knew not this.' Is not the Ponderer of hearts He who understandeth? And the Keeper of thy soul He who knoweth? And He hath rendered to man according to his work.
13 My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.
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Eat my son, honey that [is] good, And the honeycomb -- sweet to thy palate.
14 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.
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So [is] the knowledge of wisdom to thy soul, If thou hast found that there is a posterity And thy hope is not cut off.
15 Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.
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Lay not wait, O wicked one, At the habitation of the righteous. Do not spoil his resting-place.
16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
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For seven [times] doth the righteous fall and rise, And the wicked stumble in evil.
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.
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In the falling of thine enemy rejoice not, And in his stumbling let not thy heart be joyful,
18 For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.
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Lest Jehovah see, and [it be] evil in His eyes, And He hath turned from off him His anger.
19 Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked.
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Fret not thyself at evil doers, Be not envious at the wicked,
20 For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
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For there is not a posterity to the evil, The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
21 My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,
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Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
22 for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king?
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For suddenly doth their calamity rise, And the ruin of them both -- who knoweth!
23 Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
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These also are for the wise: -- To discern faces in judgment is not good.
24 A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.
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Whoso is saying to the wicked, `Thou [art] righteous,' Peoples execrate him -- nations abhor him.
25 But it will go well for those who convict the guilty; rich blessings will be showered on them.
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And to those reproving it is pleasant, And on them cometh a good blessing.
26 An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.
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Lips he kisseth who is returning straightforward words.
27 Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.
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Prepare in an out-place thy work, And make it ready in the field -- go afterwards, Then thou hast built thy house.
28 Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause; don’t lie about them.
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Be not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
29 And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”
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Say not, `As he did to me, so I do to him, I render to each according to his work.'
30 I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.
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Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.
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And lo, it hath gone up -- all of it -- thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:
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And I see -- I -- I do set my heart, I have seen -- I have received instruction,
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—
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A little sleep -- a little slumber -- A little folding of the hands to lie down.
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
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And thy poverty hath come [as] a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!