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Proverbs

About this book
Chapter 24

1 Do not envy evil people do not desire to be with them; 2 for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm. 3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 4 by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures. 5 A wise warrior is strong, and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger; 6 for with guidance you wage your war, and with numerous advisers there is victory. 7 Wisdom is unattainable for a fool; in court he does not open his mouth. 8 The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person. 9 A foolish scheme is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people. 10 You have slacked off in the day of trouble— your strength is small! 11 Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 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?⁠ 13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. 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. 15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live; do not assault his home. 16 Indeed a righteous person will fall seven times, and then get up again, but the guilty will collapse in calamity. 17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,⁠ 18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him. 19 Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people, 20 for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished. 21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels,⁠ 22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?⁠ 23 These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible: 24 The one who says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him. 25 But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty, and a pleasing blessing will come on them. 26 Like a kiss on the lips is the one who gives an honest answer. 27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready; afterward build your house. 28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words. 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.”⁠ 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks sense. 31 I saw that thorns had grown up all over it; the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I scrutinized it. I was putting my mind to it—I saw; I took in a lesson: 33 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, 34 and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Proverbs 24:12 and Romans 2:6

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Romans reflects Proverbs 24 by presenting God’s judgment as fair and responsive to human actions. Proverbs expresses trust in a just moral order where people receive what their deeds deserve. Paul applies this to say that everyone is morally accountable.

Passages

Proverbs 24:12

Hebrew Bible
10 You have slacked off in the day of trouble— your strength is small! 11 Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 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? 13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. 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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

Romans 2:6

New Testament
4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! 6 He will reward each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 8 but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... Two New Testament allusions to Proverbs reflect a general biblical literacy more than any specific manner of interpreting the text. When both Jesus in Matthew 16:27 and Paul in Romans 2:6 apparently cite part of Proverbs 24:12 (“Will not [God] repay a man according to his work?”), it is doubtful that either was reflecting on the context of these words in Proverbs. Rather, the language of Proverbs has influenced the rhetoric of Jesus and Paul. That is, both speak in the idiom of the Old Testament. We should note that similar language also appears in Psalm 62:12 ..."
Tremper Longman and Peter Enns, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Inter-Varsity, 2008), 569.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Proverbs 24:12 and Romans 2:6

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