| 1 | Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs
or
reels because of it is not wise. |
| 2 | The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger
or
angers himself against him sins against his own life. |
| 3 | It is an honor for a man to cease from strife
and
keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel. |
| 4 | The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing. |
| 5 | Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out. |
| 6 | Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness
and
goodness, but a faithful man who can find? |
| 7 | The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him. |
| 8 | A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows out all evil [like chaff] with his eyes. |
| 9 | Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? |
| 10 | Diverse weights [one for buying and another for selling] and diverse measures—both of them are exceedingly offensive
and
abhorrent to the Lord. |
| 11 | Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right. |
| 12 | The hearing ear and the seeing eye—the Lord has made both of them. |
| 13 | Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread. |
| 14 | It is worthless, it is worthless! says the buyer; but when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain]. |
| 15 | There is gold, and a multitude of pearls, but the lips of knowledge are a vase of preciousness [the most precious of all]. |
| 16 | [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners. |
| 17 | Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel. |
| 18 | Purposes
and
plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make
or
carry on war. |
| 19 | He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore associate not with him who talks too freely. |
| 20 | Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in complete darkness. |
| 21 | An inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed. |
| 22 | Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you. |
| 23 | Diverse
and
deceitful weights are shamefully vile
and
abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good. |
| 24 | Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? |
| 25 | It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it]. |
| 26 | A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain]. |
| 27 | The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. |
| 28 | Loving-kindness
and
mercy, truth
and
faithfulness, preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by [the people’s] loyalty. |
| 29 | The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is their gray head [suggesting wisdom and experience]. |
| 30 | Blows that wound cleanse away evil, and strokes [for correction] reach to the innermost parts. |
Cross references:
-
Proverbs 20:1 : Prov. 23:29, 30; Isa. 28:7; Hos. 4:11.
-
Proverbs 20:5 : Prov. 18:4.
-
Proverbs 20:9 : I Kings 8:46; II Chron. 6:36; Job 9:30; 14:4; Ps. 51:5; I John 1:8.
-
Proverbs 20:10 : Deut. 25:13; Mic. 6:10, 11.
-
Proverbs 20:15 : Job 28:12, 16-19; Prov. 3:15; 8:11.
-
Proverbs 20:19 : Rom. 16:17, 18.
-
Proverbs 20:21 : Prov. 28:20; Hab. 2:6.
-
Proverbs 20:22 : II Sam. 16:12; Rom. 12:17-19; I Thess. 5:15; I Pet. 3:9.
-
Proverbs 20:27 : I Cor. 2:11.
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