Don’t be envious of evil men; neither desire to be with them:
Parallel translations
- KJV Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
- BSB Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
- NKJV Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;
- NASB Do not be envious of evil people, Nor desire to be with them;
- NLT Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not envy wicked people or wish to be in their company.
Overview
Wisdom again warns against envying sinners (cf. 23:17) and desiring their fellowship. The temptation is to covet the apparent advantages of evil men and be drawn into their circle. Scripture instead calls believers to walk with the wise and keep company that builds godliness, not ruin (Prov. 13:20; Ps. 1:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 37:7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
- Prov 23:17Don’t let your heart envy sinners; but rather fear Yahweh all day long.
- Prov 3:31Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.
- Jas 4:5–6Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
- Prov 13:20One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
- Gal 5:19–21Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
- Ps 37:1By David. Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
- Ps 73:3For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Gen 19:1–11The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. He bowed himself with his face to the earth,
- Prov 24:19Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked:
- Prov 1:11–15If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
- Ps 26:9Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men;
- Gen 13:10–13Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 24:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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