Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t be envious of 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 the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
- Prov 23:17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
- Prov 3:31Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
- Jas 4:5–6Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
- Prov 13:20He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
- Gal 5:19–21Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
- Ps 37:1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
- Ps 73:3For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Gen 19:1–11And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
- Prov 24:19Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
- Prov 1:11–15If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
- Ps 26:9Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
- Gen 13:10–13And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
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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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