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.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 20
20
1Wine #Gen. 9:21; Prov. 23:29–35; Is. 28:7; Hos. 4:11is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3#Prov. 17:14It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
4#Prov. 10:4The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
#Prov. 19:15He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
6Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
7#2 Cor. 1:12The righteous man walks in his integrity;
#Ps. 37:26His children are blessed after him.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9#(1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36); Job 9:30, 31; 14:4; (Ps. 51:5; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:9; 1 John 1:8)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?
10#Deut. 25:13Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.
11Even a child is #Matt. 7:16known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12#Ex. 4:11; Ps. 94:9The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.
13#Rom. 12:11Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14“It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But #(Job 28:12–19; Prov. 3:13–15)the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16#Prov. 22:26Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17#Prov. 9:17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18#Prov. 24:6Plans are established by counsel;
#Luke 14:31By wise counsel wage war.
19#Prov. 11:13He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one #Rom. 16:18who flatters with his lips.
20#Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 30:11; Matt. 15:4Whoever curses his father or his mother,
#Job 18:5, 6; Prov. 24:20His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21#Prov. 28:20An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
#Hab. 2:6Will not be blessed at the end.
22#(Deut. 32:35); Prov. 17:13; 24:29; (Rom. 12:17–19); 1 Thess. 5:15; (1 Pet. 3:9)Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;
#2 Sam. 16:12Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
23Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good.
24A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way?
25It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26#Ps. 101:8A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
27#1 Cor. 2:11The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
28#Ps. 101:1; Prov. 21:21Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29The glory of young men is their strength,
And #Prov. 16:31the splendor of old men is their gray head.
30Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.