1Wine causes you to make fun of others, and beer causes you to start fights. Anyone who is led astray by them is not wise.2A king’s anger brings terror like a lion’s roar. Anyone who makes him angry may lose their life.3Avoiding a fight brings honour to a person. But every foolish person is quick to argue.4Anyone who refuses to work doesn’t plough in the right season. When they look for a crop at harvest time, they don’t find it.5The purposes of a person’s heart are like deep water. But one who has understanding brings them out.6Many claim to have love that never fails. But who can find a faithful person?7Those who do what is right live without blame. Blessed are their children after them.8A king sits on his throne to judge. He gets rid of all evil when he sees it.9No one can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure. I’m “clean”, and I haven’t sinned.’10The LORD hates two things. He hates weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are. He also hates measures that measure things larger or smaller than they really are.11Even small children are known by their actions. So is their conduct really pure and right?12The LORD has made two things. He has made ears that hear. He has also made eyes that see.13Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor. Stay awake, and you will have more food than you need.14‘It’s no good. It’s no good!’ says a buyer. Then off they go and boast about what they bought.15There is gold, and there are plenty of rubies. But lips that speak knowledge are a priceless jewel.16Take the coat of one who puts up money for what a stranger owes. Hold it until you get paid back if it is done for an outsider.17Food gained by cheating tastes sweet. But you will end up with a mouth full of gravel.18Plans are made by asking for guidance. So if you go to war, get good advice.19A person who talks about others tells secrets. So avoid anyone who talks too much.20If anyone asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother, that person’s lamp will be blown out in total darkness.21Property that you claim too soon will not be blessed in the end.22Don’t say, ‘I’ll get even with you for the wrong you did to me!’ Wait for the LORD, and he will make things right for you.23The LORD hates weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are. Scales that are not honest don’t please him.24The LORD directs a person’s steps. So how can anyone understand their own way?25A person is trapped if they make a hasty promise to God and only later thinks about what they said.26A wise king gets rid of evil people. He runs the threshing wheel over them.27The spirit of a person is the lamp of the LORD. It lights up what is deep down inside them.28Love and truth keep a king safe. Faithful love makes his throne secure.29Young men are proud of their strength. Grey hair brings honour to old men.30Blows and wounds scrub evil away. And beatings make you pure deep down inside.
Proverbs 20
English Standard Version
1Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.[1] (Ge 9:21; Pr 23:29; Pr 31:4; Isa 28:7; Ho 4:11)2The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. (Nu 16:38; Pr 8:36; Pr 19:12; Hab 2:10)3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. (Pr 17:14)4The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. (Pr 6:11; Pr 19:15; Pr 19:24)5The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. (Pr 18:4)6Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? (Ps 12:1; Pr 25:14; Mt 6:2; Lu 18:11)7The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him! (1Ki 15:4; Ps 37:26; Ps 112:2; Pr 19:1; Jer 33:20)8A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes. (Ps 101:5; Pr 16:10; Pr 20:26; Pr 25:5)9Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? (1Ki 8:46)10Unequal[2] weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord. (Pr 11:1; Pr 20:23)11Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.[3] (Mt 7:16)12The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both. (Ex 4:11; Ps 94:9; Pr 15:31; Pr 25:12)13Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. (Pr 6:4; Pr 12:11; Pr 19:15; Pr 20:4; Pr 31:15; Ro 12:11)14“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts.15There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. (Job 28:18; Pr 3:14)16Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.[4] (Job 22:6; Pr 6:1; Pr 22:26; Pr 27:13)17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel. (Pr 9:17; La 3:16)18Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war. (Pr 11:14; Pr 15:22; Pr 24:6; Lu 14:31)19Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.[5] (Pr 11:13; Pr 13:3; Ro 16:18)20If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. (Ex 21:17; 2Sa 21:17; Job 18:5; Pr 30:11; Pr 30:17)21An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end. (Pr 13:11)22Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. (Ps 27:14; Pr 17:13; Pr 24:29; Mt 5:39; Ro 12:17; Ro 12:19; 1Th 5:15; 1Pe 3:9)23Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good. (Pr 11:1; Pr 20:10)24A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way? (Pr 16:9)25It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows. (Ec 5:4)26A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them. (Isa 28:27; Mt 3:12)27The spirit[6] of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. (Pr 18:8; Zep 1:12; 1Co 2:11)28Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld. (Pr 3:3; Pr 16:12)29The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. (Pr 16:31)30Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts. (Pr 20:27; Isa 53:5)