24:1 Ne æmuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis :

24:1 Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:

24:2 quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.

24:2 Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak deceits.

24:3 Sapientia ædificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.

24:3 By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be strengthened.

24:4 In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.

24:4 By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious and most beautiful wealth.

24:5 Vir sapiens fortis est, et vir doctus robustus et validus :

24:5 A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.

24:6 quia cum dispositione initur bellum, et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.

24:6 Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety where there are many counsels.

24:7 Excelsa stulto sapientia ; in porta non aperiet os suum.

24:7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he shall not open his mouth.

24:8 Qui cogitat mala facere stultus vocabitur :

24:8 He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.

24:9 cogitatio stulti peccatum est, et abominatio hominum detractor.

24:9 The thought of a fool is sin: and the detractor is the abomination of men.

24:10 Si desperaveris lassus in die angustiæ, imminuetur fortitudo tua.

24:10 If thou lose hope, being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.

24:11 Erue eos qui ducuntur ad mortem, et qui trahuntur ad interitum, liberare ne cesses.

24:11 Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death, forbear not to deliver.

24:12 Si dixeris : Vires non suppetunt ; qui inspector est cordis ipse intelligit : et servatorem animæ tuæ nihil fallit, reddetque homini juxta opera sua.

24:12 If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.

24:13 Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo.

24:13 Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat.

24:14 Sic et doctrina sapientiæ animæ tuæ : quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.

24:14 So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not perish.

24:15 Ne insidieris, et quæras impietatem in domo justi, neque vastes requiem ejus.

24:15 Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.

24:16 Septies enim cadet justus, et resurget : impii autem corruent in malum.

24:16 For a just man shall fall seven times, and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil.

24:17 Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus ne gaudeas, et in ruina ejus ne exsultet cor tuum :

24:17 When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not thy heart rejoice:

24:18 ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.

24:18 Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

24:19 Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec æmuleris impios :

24:19 Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly.

24:20 quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.

24:20 For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

24:21 Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem, et cum detractoribus non commiscearis :

24:21 My son, fear the Lord, and the king: and have nothing to do with detractors.

24:22 quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum, et ruinam utriusque quis novit ?

24:22 For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the ruin of both?

24:23 Hæc quoque sapientibus. Cognoscere personam in judicio non est bonum.

24:23 These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment.

24:24 Qui dicunt impio : Justus es : maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.

24:24 They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.

24:25 Qui arguunt eum laudabuntur, et super ipsos veniet benedictio.

24:25 They that rebuke him shall be praised: and a blessing shall come upon them.

24:26 Labia deosculabitur qui recta verba respondet.

24:26 He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.

24:27 Præpara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum, ut postea ædifices domum tuam.

24:27 Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house.

24:28 Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum, nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.

24:28 Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.

24:29 Ne dicas : Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei ; reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.

24:29 Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to every one according to his work.

24:30 Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti :

24:30 I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man:

24:31 et ecce totum repleverant urticæ, et operuerant superficiem ejus spinæ, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.

24:31 And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.

24:32 Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.

24:32 Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction.

24:33 Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis ; pauxillum manus conseres ut quiescas :

24:33 Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest.

24:34 et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.

24:34 And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.