Font Size
Proverbs 20
Easy-to-Read Version
Proverbs 20
Easy-to-Read Version
20 Wine and beer make people lose control; they get loud and stumble around. And that is foolish.
2 An angry king is like a roaring lion. If you make him angry, you could lose your life.
3 People who refuse to argue deserve respect. Any fool can start an argument.
4 Some people are too lazy to plant seeds. So at harvest time, they look for food and find nothing.
5 Getting information from someone can be like getting water from a deep well. If you are smart, you will draw it out.
6 You might call many people your “friends,” but it is hard to find someone who can really be trusted.
7 When people live good, honest lives, their children are blessed.
8 When the king sits and judges people, he must look carefully to separate the evil from the good.
9 Can anyone say their heart is pure? Who can say, “I am free from sin”?
10 The Lord hates for people to use the wrong weights and measures to cheat others.
11 Even children show what they are like by the things they do. You can see if their actions are pure and right.
12 It was the Lord who gave us eyes for seeing and ears for hearing.
13 If you love to sleep, you will become poor. Use your time working and you will have plenty to eat.
14 When buying something, people always say, “It’s no good. It costs too much.” Then they go away and tell others what a good deal they got.
15 The right knowledge can bring you gold, pearls, and other expensive things.
16 If someone promises to pay the debt of a stranger, get a coat or something from him to keep until the debt is paid.
17 It may seem to be a good thing to get something by cheating, but in the end, it will be worth nothing.
18 Get good advice when you make your plans. Before you start a war, find good advisors.
19 You cannot trust someone who would talk about things told in private. So don’t be friends with someone who talks too much.
20 Those who would curse their father or mother are like a lamp that goes out on the darkest night.
21 If your wealth was easy to get, it will not be worth much to you.[a]
22 Don’t ever say, “I’ll pay them back for what they did to me!” Wait for the Lord. He will make things right.
23 The Lord hates for people to use the wrong weights to cheat others. It is wrong to use scales that are not accurate.
24 The Lord guides our steps, and we never know where he will lead us.[b]
25 Think carefully before you promise to give something to God. Later, you might wish you had not made that promise.
26 Like a farmer who separates wheat from the chaff, a wise king will decide who is wrong and crush them.
27 Your spirit is like a lamp to the Lord. He is able to see into your deepest parts.[c]
28 A king who is loyal and true will keep his power. Loyalty will keep his kingdom strong.
29 We admire a young man for his strength, but we respect an old man for his gray hair.
30 A beating can remove evil and make you completely clean.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:21 Or “An inheritance greedily guarded in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.”
- Proverbs 20:24 Or “A man’s steps are from the Lord, and people don’t understand his way.”
- Proverbs 20:27 Or “The Lord examines your breath and searches your deepest thoughts.”
- Proverbs 20:30 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Proverbs 20
New International Version
Proverbs 20
New International Version
2 A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;(E)
those who anger him forfeit their lives.(F)
5 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,(K)
but one who has insight draws them out.
6 Many claim to have unfailing love,
but a faithful person who can find?(L)
10 Differing weights and differing measures—
the Lord detests them both.(S)
11 Even small children are known by their actions,
so is their conduct really pure(T) and upright?
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the Lord has made them both.(U)
13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;(V)
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer—
then goes off and boasts about the purchase.
15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge(W) if it is done for an outsider.(X)
18 Plans are established by seeking advice;
so if you wage war, obtain guidance.(AA)
19 A gossip betrays a confidence;(AB)
so avoid anyone who talks too much.
20 If someone curses their father or mother,(AC)
their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.(AD)
21 An inheritance claimed too soon
will not be blessed at the end.
22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”(AE)
Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.(AF)
23 The Lord detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales do not please him.(AG)
24 A person’s steps are directed(AH) by the Lord.(AI)
How then can anyone understand their own way?(AJ)
25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly
and only later to consider one’s vows.(AK)
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked;
he drives the threshing wheel over them.(AL)
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
gray hair the splendor of the old.(AQ)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:27 Or A person’s words are
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.