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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 24:17 and Sirach 25:7

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

Sirach 25 echoes the teaching of Proverbs that tells people not to celebrate an enemy’s downfall. Proverbs presents this as a reminder that gloating can bring unwanted consequences, while Sirach keeps the same focus on showing restraint and humility.

Passages

Proverbs 24:17

Hebrew Bible
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,
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

Sirach 25:7

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
5 How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, and understanding and counsel to men who are in honor! 6 Much experience is the crown of the aged. Their glory is the fear of the Lord. 7 There are nine things that I have thought of, and in my heart counted happy, and the tenth I will utter with my tongue: a man who has joy with his children, and a man who lives and sees the fall of his enemies. 8 Happy is he who dwells with a wife of understanding, he who has not slipped with his tongue, and he who has not served a man who is unworthy of him. 9 Happy is he who has found prudence, and he who speaks in the ears of those who listen.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

References

"... Like Proverbs, the poetry of Sirach is generally marked by parallelism, either in single or multiple couplets. But the sayings of Ben Sira consist of both long and short teachings made up from various genres, such as “proverbs,” “hymns of praise,” “songs of thanksgiving,” “laments,” “prophetic speeches” and “wisdom personified speeches”, with the genres of mashal (Sirach 1-43) and rewritten Bible (Sirach 44-49) being the most prominent ones. The basic meaning of mashal is “likeness/comparison,” and it is generally used to describe a popular aphoristic saying. Like Proverbs, Sirach contains “better” sayings, with the standard formula (e.g., Sirach 20:31; 40:28). Numerical sayings usually take the form “x/x plus one” and have their emphasis on the second, larger number (e.g., Sirach 23:16-18; 25:1-2, 7-11; 26:5-6, 28; 50:25-26). Ben Sira’s numerical sayings stretch from 2/3 (Sirach 23:16-18) to 9/10 (Sirach 25:711). Other types of mashal include, among others, “happy” sayings (e.g., Sirach 14:1-2, 20; 25:8-9; 26:1) and “woe” sayings (Sirach 2:12-14; 41:8) ..."
Tremper Longman and Peter Enns, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Inter-Varsity, 2008), 722.

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 24:17 and Sirach 25:7

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