Proverbs 20
20
1Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls.
Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.
2The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar;
to rouse his anger is to risk your life.
3Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor;
only fools insist on quarreling.
4Those too lazy to plow in the right season
will have no food at the harvest.
5Though good advice lies deep within the heart,
a person with understanding will draw it out.
6Many will say they are loyal friends,
but who can find one who is truly reliable?
7The godly walk with integrity;
blessed are their children who follow them.
8When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence,
distinguishing the bad from the good.
9Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart;
I am pure and free from sin”?
10False weights and unequal measures#20:10 Hebrew A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.—
the Lord detests double standards of every kind.
11Even children are known by the way they act,
whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
12Ears to hear and eyes to see—
both are gifts from the Lord.
13If you love sleep, you will end in poverty.
Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!
14The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,”
then brags about getting a bargain!
15Wise words are more valuable
than much gold and many rubies.
16Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.#20:16 An alternate reading in the Masoretic Text is for a promiscuous woman.
17Stolen bread tastes sweet,
but it turns to gravel in the mouth.
18Plans succeed through good counsel;
don’t go to war without wise advice.
19A gossip goes around telling secrets,
so don’t hang around with chatterers.
20If you insult your father or mother,
your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.
21An inheritance obtained too early in life
is not a blessing in the end.
22Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.”
Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.
23The Lord detests double standards;
he is not pleased by dishonest scales.
24The Lord directs our steps,
so why try to understand everything along the way?
25Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God
and only later counting the cost.
26A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat,
then runs his threshing wheel over them.
27The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit,#20:27 Or The human spirit is the Lord’s light.
exposing every hidden motive.
28Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king;
his throne is made secure through love.
29The glory of the young is their strength;
the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
30Physical punishment cleanses away evil;#20:30 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
such discipline purifies the heart.
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Proverbs 20: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Proverbs 20
20
1Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler.
Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion.
He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.
4The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,
but who can find a faithful man?
7A righteous man walks in integrity.
Blessed are his children after him.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
scatters away all evil with his eyes.
9Who can say, “I have made my heart pure.
I am clean and without sin”?
10Differing weights and differing measures,
both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
11Even a child makes himself known by his doings,
whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
12The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Yahweh has made even both of them.
13Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty.
Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.
14“It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;
but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
15There is gold and abundance of rubies,
but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.
16Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;
and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
17Fraudulent food is sweet to a man,
but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
18Plans are established by advice;
by wise guidance you wage war!
19He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets;
therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
20Whoever curses his father or his mother,
his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
won’t be blessed in the end.
22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”
Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
23Yahweh detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales are not pleasing.
24A man’s steps are from Yahweh;
how then can man understand his way?
25It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication,
then later to consider his vows.
26A wise king winnows out the wicked,
and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp,
searching all his innermost parts.
28Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.
His throne is sustained by love.
29The glory of young men is their strength.
The splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30Wounding blows cleanse away evil,
and beatings purge the innermost parts.
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