Proverbs 20
20
1Drinking too much makes you loud and foolish. It's stupid to get drunk.
2Fear an angry king as you would a growling lion; making him angry is suicide.
3Any fool can start arguments; the honourable thing is to stay out of them.
4A farmer who is too lazy to plough his fields at the right time will have nothing to harvest.
5A person's thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.
6Everyone talks about how loyal and faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is!
7Children are fortunate if they have a father who is honest and does what is right.
8The king sits in judgement and knows evil when he sees it.
9Can anyone really say that his conscience is clear, that he has got rid of his sin?
10The LORD hates people who use dishonest weights and measures.
11Even children show what they are by what they do; you can tell if they are honest and good.
12The LORD has given us eyes to see with and ears to listen with.
13If you spend your time sleeping, you will be poor. Keep busy and you will have plenty to eat.
14The customer always complains that the price is too high, but then he goes off and brags about the bargain he got.
15If you know what you are talking about, you have something more valuable than gold or jewels.
16Anyone stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger's debts ought to have his own property held to guarantee payment.
17What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand.
18Get good advice and you will succeed; don't go charging into battle without a plan.
19A gossip can never keep a secret. Stay away from people who talk too much.
20If you curse your parents, your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark.
21The more easily you get your wealth, the less good it will do you.
22Don't take it on yourself to repay a wrong. Trust the LORD and he will make it right.
23The LORD hates people who use dishonest scales and weights.
24The LORD has determined our path; how then can anyone understand the direction his own life is taking?
25Think carefully before you promise an offering to God. You might regret it later.
26A wise king will find out who is doing wrong, and will punish him without pity.
27The LORD gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves.
28A king will remain in power as long as his rule is honest, just, and fair.
29We admire the strength of youth and respect the grey hair of age.
30Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.
Currently Selected:
Proverbs 20: GNBUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Proverbs 20
20
1Wine ⌞makes people⌟ mock,
liquor ⌞makes them⌟ noisy,
and everyone under their influence is unwise.
2The rage of a king is like the roar of a lion.
Whoever makes him angry forfeits his life.
3Avoiding a quarrel is honorable.
After all, any stubborn fool can start a fight.
4A lazy person does not plow in the fall.#20:4 Fall was the start of the planting season in Palestine.
He looks for something in the harvest but finds nothing.
5A motive in the human heart is like deep water,
and a person who has understanding draws it out.
6Many people declare themselves loyal,
but who can find someone who is ⌞really⌟ trustworthy?
7A righteous person lives on the basis of his integrity.
Blessed are his children after he is gone.
8A king who sits on his throne to judge sifts out every evil with his eyes.
9Who can say,
“I’ve made my heart pure.
I’m cleansed from my sin”?
10A double standard of weights and measures—
both are disgusting to the Lord.
11Even a child makes himself known by his actions,
whether his deeds are pure or right.
12The ear that hears,
the eye that sees—
the Lord made them both.
13Do not love sleep or you will end up poor.
Keep your eyes open, and you will have plenty to eat.
14“Bad! Bad!” says the buyer.
Then, as he goes away, he brags ⌞about his bargain⌟.
15There are gold and plenty of jewels,
but the lips of knowledge are precious gems.
16Hold on to the garment of one who guarantees a stranger’s loan,
and hold responsible the person who makes a loan on behalf of a foreigner.
17Food gained dishonestly tastes sweet to a person,
but afterwards his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18Plans are confirmed by getting advice,
and with guidance one wages war.
19Whoever goes around as a gossip tells secrets.
Do not associate with a person whose mouth is always open.
20The lamp of the person who curses his father and mother
will be snuffed out in total darkness.#20:20 Or “snuffed out as darkness approaches.”
21An inheritance quickly obtained in the beginning
will never be blessed in the end.
22Do not say, “I’ll get even with you!”
Wait for the Lord, and he will save you.
23A double standard of weights is disgusting to the Lord,
and dishonest scales are no good.
24The Lord is the one who directs a person’s steps.
How then can anyone understand his own way?
25It is a trap for a person to say impulsively, “This is a holy offering!”
and later to have second thoughts about those vows.
26A wise king scatters the wicked
and then runs them over.
27A person’s soul is the Lord’s lamp.
It searches his entire innermost being.
28Mercy and truth protect a king,
and with mercy he maintains his throne.
29While the glory of young men is their strength,
the splendor of older people is their silver hair.
30Brutal beatings cleanse away wickedness.
Such beatings cleanse the innermost being.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.