Proverbs 24:23-34 - More Sayings Of The Wise

²³
These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judgment is not good.
²⁴
He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;
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But to those [honorable judges] who rebuke the wicked, it will go well with them and they will find delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶
He kisses the lips [and wins the hearts of people]
Who gives a right and straightforward answer.

²⁷
Prepare your work outside
And get it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward build your house and establish a home.

²⁸
Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips [speak neither lies nor half-truths].
²⁹
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for his deed.”

³⁰
I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;
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And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.
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When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
³³
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”
³⁴
Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.