Proverbs 20

On Life and Conduct

¹Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink a brawler,

And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;

One who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

³Avoiding strife is an honor for a person,

But any fool will quarrel.

⁴The lazy one does not plow after the autumn,[#20:4 Lit idle]

So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

⁵A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water,

But a person of understanding draws it out.

⁶Many a person proclaims his own loyalty,

But who can find a trustworthy person?

⁷A righteous person who walks in his integrity—

How blessed are his sons after him.

⁸A king who sits on the throne of justice

Disperses all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,

I am pure from my sin”?

¹⁰Differing weights and differing measures,[#20:10 Lit A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah]

Both of them are abominable to the Lord .

¹¹It is by his deeds that a boy distinguishes himself,[#20:11 Or makes himself known]

If his conduct is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

The Lord has made both of them.

¹³Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;[#20:15 Or corals]

But lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

¹⁶Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger;

And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.

¹⁷Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

¹⁸Prepare plans by consultation,

And make war by wise guidance.

¹⁹One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets;

Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

²⁰He who curses his father or his mother,

His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained in a hurry at the beginning

Will not be blessed in the end.

²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Wait for the Lord , and He will save you.

²³Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord ,[#20:23 Lit A stone and a stone]

And a false scale is not good.

²⁴A man’s steps are ordained by the Lord ;

How then can a person understand his way?

²⁵It is a trap for a person to say carelessly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

²⁶A wise king scatters the wicked,

And drives a threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of a person is the lamp of the Lord ,[#20:27 Lit breath]

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

²⁸Loyalty and truth watch over the king,[#20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty]

And he upholds his throne by loyalty.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,

And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

³⁰Bruising wounds clean away evil,

And blows cleanse the innermost parts.