Proverbs 20:20-21:17

English Standard Version

^20 (A)If one curses his father or his mother,
    ^(B)his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
^21 (C)An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
    will not be blessed in the end.
²² Do not say, ^(D)“I will repay evil”;
    ^(E)wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
^23 (F)Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
    and ^(G)false scales are not good.
²⁴ A man's ^(H)steps are from the Lord;
    how then can man understand his way?
²⁵ It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
    and to reflect only ^(I)after making vows.
²⁶ A wise king ^(J)winnows the wicked
    and drives ^(K)the wheel over them.
^27 (L)The spirit^[a] of man is the lamp of the Lord,
    ^(M)searching all ^(N)his innermost parts.
^28 (O)Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
    and by steadfast love his ^(P)throne is upheld.
²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength,
    but ^(Q)the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
^30 (R)Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
    strokes make clean ^(S)the innermost parts.
21 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
    he ^(T)turns it wherever he will.
^2 (U)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
    but the Lord ^(V)weighs the heart.
^3 (W)To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
^4 (X)Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    ^(Y)the lamp^[b] of the wicked, are sin.
⁵ The plans of ^(Z)the diligent lead surely to abundance,
    but everyone who is ^(AA)hasty comes ^(AB)only to poverty.
^6 (AC)The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
    is a ^(AD)fleeting ^(AE)vapor and a ^(AF)snare of death.^[c]
7 The violence of the wicked will ^(AG)sweep them away,
    because they refuse to do what is just.
⁸ The way of the guilty ^(AH)is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is upright.
⁹ It is ^(AI)better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
¹⁰ The soul of the wicked desires evil;
    his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
¹¹ When ^(AJ)a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
    when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
¹² The Righteous One ^(AK)observes the house of the wicked;
    he throws the wicked down to ruin.
^13 (AL)Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
    will himself call out and not be answered.
^14 (AM)A gift in secret averts anger,
    and a concealed bribe,^[d] strong wrath.
¹⁵ When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
    ^(AN)but terror to evildoers.
¹⁶ One who wanders from the way of good sense
    ^(AO)will rest in the assembly of the dead.
¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.