Chapter Twenty-Four

1–2. A warning against imitating wicked men. 3–6. Praise of wisdom and its beneficial consequences. 7–10. Against foolishness, treachery, and similar things. 11–12. An exhortation to defend those condemned to death. 13–14. An exhortation to strive for wisdom. 15–18. Against treachery and malicious joy. 19–22. A call to magnanimity and a warning against association with rebels. 23–29. A warning against partiality, prejudice, and injustice. 30–34. A depiction of the destructiveness of idleness and its consequences.

Proverbs 24:1. Do not envy evil men, and do not desire to be with them, Proverbs 24:2. for their heart plans violence, and their lips speak trouble. The thought of these verses represents a development of Prov 23:17.

Proverbs 24:3. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established, Proverbs 24:4. and by knowledge its rooms are filled with all precious and beautiful possessions. Proverbs 24:5. A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases his strength. Proverbs 24:6. For with thoughtful counsel you wage your war, and victory belongs to the abundance of counselors. In contrast to wickedness, wisdom-piety for those who possess it is combined with various kinds of material goods—in the domestic sphere (v. 3–4) and in public affairs, for example, in military matters (v. 5–6).

Proverbs 24:7. Wisdom is too high for a fool; he will not open his mouth at the gate. Proverbs 24:8. He who devises evil is called a schemer. Proverbs 24:9. The thought of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to men. The fool and the wicked man, by contrast, are powerless and helpless when they must come forward in any kind of public activity; all his energy is turned to treacherous schemes (v. 8) and is exhausted in deeds sinful before God and abominable before men (v. 9).

Proverbs 24:10. If you become weak in a day of distress, your strength is meager. Proverbs 24:11. Rescue those being led away to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. Proverbs 24:12. If you say, “Look, we did not know of this,” does not he who weighs hearts understand? And he who watches over your soul, does he not know? And will he not repay each person according to his deeds? Wisdom, on the other hand, possesses the art of saving itself (v. 10) and others, even from the most extreme misfortunes (v. 11), and thereupon the egoistic excuse of a callous heart “I do not know such a person, therefore I am free from obligations toward him” is refuted and done away with by pointing to the all-seeing and all-encompassing Providence of God, before which no one who allows his brothers to perish will be justified. In explanation of the instruction of verse 11, some pointed to the Pharisaic-Talmudic rules that obliged every person who knew anything in defense of one condemned to death to necessarily come forward with his testimony (Mishnah, Sanhedrin VI, 1). But it is hardly likely that this custom already existed in the biblical era; besides, the instruction of v. 11 pertains not only to judicial matters, but has a broader scope, referring to all possible cases of mortal danger of one’s neighbors.

Proverbs 24:13. Eat honey, my son, for it is good; and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate: Proverbs 24:14. so also is the knowledge of wisdom to your soul. If you find it, then there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Wisdom by its saving fruits is like the sweetness and usefulness of honey; and these fruits show themselves not only in the present, but reach even to the bounds of the future (v. 14, see Prov 23:18).

Proverbs 24:15. Do not plot evil against the dwelling of the righteous, and do not raid his resting place, Proverbs 24:16. for seven times the righteous man falls and rises up, but the wicked stumble into disaster. Proverbs 24:17. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let your heart not be glad when he stumbles, Proverbs 24:18. lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and he turn away his anger from him. One is instructed at the misfortunes of the righteous and the wicked to pay attention to the final outcome, which is different for the sufferings of one and the other (v. 16). At the same time, a warning is made against malicious joy at an enemy’s misfortune, for this is displeasing to the Lord (v. 17–18, see Prov 18:5).

Proverbs 24:19. Do not fret about evildoers and do not envy the wicked, Proverbs 24:20. for the evil man has no future—the lamp of the wicked will go out. Proverbs 24:21. Fear the Lord, my son, and the king; do not associate with rebels, Proverbs 24:22. for disaster from them will rise suddenly, and calamity from both of them—who knows? The instruction is repeated (cf. v. 1) to not envy the wicked (see 19), for their final lot will be desolate (v. 20, see Prov 13:9). In conclusion, attention is called to the fear of God, but thereupon with the fear of God itself, the fear of the king is prescribed, as the representative of God’s rule in the society of men (v. 21–23, see 1 Pet 2:17; Rom 13:2).

Proverbs 24:23. These also are sayings of the wise: to show partiality in judgment is not good. Proverbs 24:24. He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” will be cursed by peoples and despised by nations; Proverbs 24:25. but those who rebuke him will be blessed, and a good blessing will come upon them. Proverbs 24:26. He who answers with true words receives a kiss on the lips. Proverbs 24:27. Prepare your work outside, and get ready in your field; and afterward, build your house. Proverbs 24:28. Do not be a false witness against your neighbor; and do not deceive with your lips. Proverbs 24:29. Do not say, “As he has done to me, so I will do to him; I will repay the man according to his work. A new group of sayings of the wise begins with a condemnation of partiality (v. 23–24), against which is threatened a curse of peoples: the perversion of truth and justice in the court is everywhere a source of the ruin of the well-being of peoples. On the contrary, integrity and truthfulness in words, judgments, and deeds are highly approved (v. 25–25, see 28). Two other instructions of this section—one of a practical nature: before the internal ordering of the house and family, it is necessary to arrange the external aspect of life—field and household economy (v. 27), others—purely moral, and of such a character of evangelical purity and height: one must not repay evil with evil (v. 29, see Prov 17:13).

Proverbs 24:30. I passed by the field of a sluggard and by the vineyard of a man without sense; Proverbs 24:31. and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Proverbs 24:32. Then I looked and considered it well; I saw and learned a lesson: Proverbs 24:33. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— Proverbs 24:34. and your poverty will come like a prowler, and your want like an armed man. The ruinous consequences of idleness are depicted by the example of the condition of the field and vineyard of the lazy man. This—is not an allegory of spiritual dissoluteness, as some commentators supposed, but a direct depiction of the vice of idleness with its ruinous consequences—a lesson drawn by the Wise Ones from practical observation (v. 32). V. 33–34 present a reproduction of Prov 6:10-11.