Proverbs 20
New King James Version
Wine Is a Mocker
20 Wine (A)is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2 The [a]wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3 (B)It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 Most men will proclaim each his own [b]goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9 (G)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?
10 (H)Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.
11 Even a child is (I)known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12 (J)The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.
13 (K)Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14 “It is [c]good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But (L)the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 (M)Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17 (N)Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
19 (Q)He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one (R)who flatters with his lips.
23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good.
24 A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way?
25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26 (Y)A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
And (AB)the splendor of old men is their gray head.
30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the [g]inner depths of the heart.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:2 Lit. fear or terror, produced by the king’s wrath
- Proverbs 20:6 Lit. mercy
- Proverbs 20:14 Lit. evil, evil
- Proverbs 20:22 repay
- Proverbs 20:27 Lit. rooms of the belly
- Proverbs 20:28 mercy
- Proverbs 20:30 Lit. rooms of the belly
Proverbs 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 1 Wine [a]is a mocker, and strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby, is not wise.
2 (A)The fear of the King is like the roaring of a lion: he that provoketh him unto anger [b]sinneth against his own soul.
3 It is a man’s honor to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
4 The slothful will not plow, because of winter: therefore shall he beg in summer, but have nothing.
5 The counsel in the heart of [c]man is like deep waters: but a man that hath understanding, will draw it out.
6 Many men will boast every one of his own goodness: but who can find a faithful man?
7 He that walketh in his integrity, is just, and blessed shall his children be after him.
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment, [d]chaseth away all evil with his eyes.
9 (B)Who can say, I have made mine heart clean, I am clean from my sin?
10 Divers [e]weights, and divers measures, both [f]these are even abomination unto the Lord.
11 A child also is known by his doings, whether his word be pure and right.
12 The Lord hath made both these, even the ear to hear, and the eye to see.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come unto poverty: open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone apart, he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of precious stones: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 (C)Take his [g]garment, that is surety for a stranger, and a pledge of him for the stranger.
17 The bread of deceit is sweet to a man: but afterward his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
18 Establish thy thoughts by counsel; and by counsel make war.
19 He that goeth about as a slanderer, discovereth (D)secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
20 (E)He that curseth his father or his mother, his light shall be put out in obscure darkness.
21 An heritage is hastily gotten at the beginning, but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
22 Say not thou, (F)I will recompense evil, but wait upon the Lord, and he shall save thee.
23 (G)Diverse weights are an abomination unto the Lord, and deceitful balances are not good.
24 (H)The steps of man are ruled by the Lord: how can a man then understand his own way?
25 It is a destruction for a man to [h]devour that which is sanctified, and after the vows to inquire.
26 A wise King scattereth the wicked, and causeth the [i]wheel to turn over them.
27 The [j]light of the Lord is the breath of man, and searcheth all the bowels of the belly.
28 (I)Mercy and truth preserve the king: for his throne shall be established with mercy.
29 The beauty of young men is their strength, and the glory of the aged is the gray head.
30 [k]The blueness of the wound serveth to purge the evil, and the stripes within the bowels of the belly.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:1 By wine here is meant him that is given to wine, and so by strong drink.
- Proverbs 20:2 Putteth his life in danger.
- Proverbs 20:5 It is hard to find out: for it is as deep waters, whose bottom cannot be found: yet the wise man will know a man either by his words or manners.
- Proverbs 20:8 Where righteous judgment is executed, there sin ceaseth, and vice dare not appear.
- Proverbs 20:10 Hebrew, stone and stone, ephah and ephah.
- Proverbs 20:10 Read Prov. 16:11.
- Proverbs 20:16 Teach him wit, that he cast not himself rashly into danger.
- Proverbs 20:25 That is, to apply it, or take it to his own use, which was appointed to God’s, and then inquire how they may be exempted from the fault.
- Proverbs 20:26 Which was a kind of punishment then used.
- Proverbs 20:27 The word of God giveth life unto man, and causeth us to see and try the secret of our dark hearts, Heb. 4:12.
- Proverbs 20:30 Sharp punishment that pierceth even the inward parts, is profitable for the wicked, to bring them to amendment.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
