# Proverbs 24 📖: Do Not Envy the Wicked
[[📚 Explore the Bible Books]]
[[-Proverbs Overview]] | [[Proverbs 23]] | [[Proverbs 25]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#🛤 Life Application]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] Do not envy evil people do not desire to be with them;
[[#Verse 02.]] for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm.
[[#Verse 03.]] By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
[[#Verse 04.]] by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.
[[#Verse 05.]] A wise warrior is strong, and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;
[[#Verse 06.]] for with guidance you wage your war, and with numerous advisers there is victory.
[[#Verse 07.]] Wisdom is unattainable for a fool; in court he does not open his mouth.
[[#Verse 08.]] The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.
[[#Verse 09.]] A foolish scheme is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people.
[[#Verse 10.]] You have slacked off in the day of trouble— your strength is small!
[[#Verse 11.]] Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter.
[[#Verse 12.]] If you say, “But we did not know about this,” won’t the one who evaluates hearts discern it? Won’t the one who guards your life realize and repay each person according to his deeds?
[[#Verse 13.]] Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
[[#Verse 14.]] Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you have found it, you have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
[[#Verse 15.]] Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live; do not assault his home.
[[#Verse 16.]] Indeed a righteous person will fall seven times, and then get up again, but the guilty will collapse in calamity.
[[#Verse 17.]] Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,
[[#Verse 18.]] lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.
[[#Verse 19.]] Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people,
[[#Verse 20.]] for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
[[#Verse 21.]] Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels,
[[#Verse 22.]] for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?
#### More Sayings of the Wise
**Principle**:
[[#Verse 23.]] These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
[[#Verse 24.]] The one who says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him.
[[#Verse 25.]] But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty, and a pleasing blessing will come on them.
[[#Verse 26.]] Like a kiss on the lips is the one who gives an honest answer.
[[#Verse 27.]] Establish your work outside and get your fields ready; afterward build your house.
[[#Verse 28.]] Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words.
[[#Verse 29.]] Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.”
[[#Verse 30.]] I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks sense.
[[#Verse 31.]] I saw that thorns had grown up all over it; the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down.
[[#Verse 32.]] Then I scrutinized it. I was putting my mind to it— I saw; I took in a lesson:
[[#Verse 33.]] “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax,
[[#Verse 34.]] and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts
- Verse 10—“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small”—emphasizes endurance under pressure.
- This chapter repeats the warning not to envy the wicked, tying it to long-term perspective (v. 19).
- Verses 11–12 encourage rescuing those unjustly sentenced to death, revealing social justice concern.
- Proverbs 24 closes with a memorable reflection on laziness through the image of a neglected vineyard (vv. 30–34).
- It affirms wisdom as the foundation for building a home (v. 3), not just bricks or wealth.
1. Verse 10 contains a Hebrew wordplay: the word for "trouble" (*tsarah*) and the word for "small" (*tsar*) sound alike.
2. Verse 12 says the One who weighs hearts knows the truth, so pleading ignorance will not work before God.
3. Wisdom is compared to honey that is sweet to the taste (24:13-14).
4. Verse 16 uses "seven times" as a picture of repeated falls, not a literal count.
5. Verses 17-18 warn against gloating when an enemy falls.
6. Verse 21 tells the reader to fear the Lord and the king, which Peter echoes: fear God, honor the king (1 Peter 2:17).
7. Verse 23 begins a short added collection: "These also are sayings of the wise" (24:23-34).
8. An honest answer is compared to a kiss on the lips (24:26), a sign of true friendship.
9. Verse 29 forbids saying, "I will do to him as he did to me."
10. The closing lesson from the sluggard's overgrown vineyard (24:33-34) repeats 6:10-11 almost word for word.
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
**Main Teaching**: Proverbs 24 warns against envying the wicked and encourages perseverance, just leadership, and honest work. It teaches that wisdom builds strong lives and communities, while folly leads to collapse.
**How It Fits in Proverbs**: This chapter continues the application of wisdom to personal character, social justice, and long-term success. It maintains the contrast between wise and foolish living, now with a stronger emphasis on justice and consequences.
**Apologetic Insight**: Proverbs 24 reinforces that righteousness, not wealth or power, is the foundation of a stable society. It pushes back against cultural admiration for success at any cost and insists that moral truth ultimately prevails.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who rescued those being led away to death (24:11-12). He is the Wisdom by whom God's house is built (24:3-4; Hebrews 3:3-6), and He loved His enemies instead of gloating over their fall (24:17; Luke 23:34).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
- 📌 Wisdom builds strong homes and lives.
- 📌 Do not envy the wicked, for their end is destruction.
- 📌 Perseverance in adversity reveals true strength.
#### Today, I can apply this chapter by:
- ✅ Don’t celebrate when others fail—pray for them instead.
- ✅ Do your best work today with excellence and honesty.
- ✅ Surround yourself with wise, godly people who can give sound advice.
- ✅ Don’t be afraid to stand for what’s right, even if others stay silent.
- ✅ Reflect on what you’ve learned from past mistakes and apply it going forward
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established (24:3-4). What is building your home right now?
2. Verses 11-12 call us to rescue those being led away to death and not pretend we did not know. Who in your world needs someone to step in?
3. The righteous fall seven times and rise again (24:16). How does that encourage you after a failure?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verses 3-4: By wisdom a house is built, and by knowledge its rooms are filled with treasures.
- 📖 verse 10: If you falter in a time of trouble, your strength is small. Strength is revealed under pressure, so we build spiritual resilience before trials come.
- 📖 verse 16: The righteous may fall seven times, but they rise again.
## 🔗 Related Passages
- 🔗 [[Galatians 06#Verse 09.|Galatians 6:9]] - Do not grow weary in doing good.
- 🔗 [[Isaiah 40#Verse 31.|Isaiah 40:31]] - Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
- 🔗 [[James 01#Verse 12.|James 1:12]] - Blessed is the one who endures trials.
- 🔗 [[Psalm 37#Verse 01.|Psalm 37:1-2]] - Do not fret because of evildoers.
- 🔗 [[Matthew 05#Verse 44.|Matthew 5:44]] - Love your enemies and pray for them.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 🛤 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 📂 Internal Notes