24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm. 1
24:9 A foolish scheme 2 is sin,
and the scorner is an abomination to people. 3
1 sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).
2 tn Heb “the scheme of folly” (NIV similar). The genitive functions as an attributive genitive, meaning “foolish scheme.” But it could also be interpreted as a genitive of source, the scheme that comes from folly (or from the fool if “folly” were metonymical).
3 tn Heb “to a man”; cf. CEV “Everyone hates senseless fools.”
sn This describes evil people who flout all morality and goodness; sooner or later the public will have had enough of them.