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Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24 ties wisdom to strength in trouble, restraint toward enemies, and responsibility for people and work entrusted to human care.

A wisdom teacher addresses a son, warning him against envy of violent people and urging him to seek wisdom, heed counsel, and rescue those facing death. The sayings move through adversity, enemies, and reverence for YHWH and the king. Verse 23 introduces further sayings of the wise, including instructions about fair judgment, honest speech, and work. The chapter closes with an observer learning from a neglected vineyard whose thorns and broken wall expose the cost of laziness.

injustice and angerenvy and comparisonforgiving someone
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1Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2for their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about mischief.
3Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;
4by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
5A wise man has great power. A knowledgeable man increases strength,
6for by wise guidance you wage your war, and victory is in many advisors.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.
8One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
9The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
10If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.
11Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!
12If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not give to every man according to his work?
13My son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste;
14so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul. If you have found it, then there will be a reward: Your hope will not be cut off.
15Don’t lay in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Don’t destroy his resting place;
16for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,
18lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked;
20for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21My son, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious,
22for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?
23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
25but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.
26An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.
28Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.
29Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
30I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.
31Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
32Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
33a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
34so your poverty will come as a robber and your want as an armed man.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Proverbs 24:16Repeated recovery from adversity explains why the wicked are warned against attacking the righteous person's home.
Proverbs 24:17The command against celebrating an enemy’s downfall places even private gladness under YHWH’s judgment.
Proverbs 24:29This prohibition of revenge follows a warning against false witness, connecting truthful speech with restraint toward a neighbor.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm shares the warning against envying evildoers and the picture of a righteous person recovering after a fall. Matthew and Romans share the rejection of personal revenge, while Romans also shares the claim that God judges people according to their deeds.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How do the commands to rescue the endangered and refuse revenge shape your understanding of justice?

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What instruction might you draw from the neglected vineyard when you consider your own responsibilities?

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Questions people ask about Proverbs 24

What does Proverbs 24:16 mean when the righteous fall seven times?

The surrounding verses warn a wicked person against attacking the righteous person’s home. Falling therefore points chiefly to adversity or calamity; the verse does not specify repeated sins. Seven conveys repeated falls, followed by rising again. The contrast concerns the wicked, who are overthrown by calamity.

Why does Proverbs 24 say not to rejoice when an enemy falls?

Verses 17–18 say that YHWH sees such gladness and is displeased by it. They warn that he may turn his wrath away from the fallen enemy. The saying places the observer’s heart under God’s scrutiny, even when the person suffering is an enemy.

What is the lesson of the neglected vineyard in Proverbs 24?

The observer sees thorns, nettles, and a broken stone wall, then draws instruction from them. Small concessions to sleep and inaction can leave a person exposed to poverty that arrives with force. The passage identifies neglect in this particular field; it does not explain every cause of poverty.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).