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Proverbs 24:1-34 open_in_new
Warnings are uttered against envy, against the formation of evil companionships, against excess in passion, against all false exhilaration; and perperpetual attention to wisdom and earnest endeavor to help those in peril are urged.
The mind of wisdom is then described. It is a mind full of hope, free of enmity, filled with reverent fear. The counsels close with further teaching concerning the social order. Judgment must be just, and wickedness must not be condoned. In proverbial language, the importance of working before rest is indicated. The need for a house and its use must be justified by wisdom before it is built. True neighborliness consists in refusing to consent to wronging a neighbor, and also in being free of a vengeful spirit. A graphic description of the slothful's neglect of his field and vineyard serves as a warning against sloth.