Proverbs 20
World English Bible
20 Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler.
Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2 The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion.
He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,
but who can find a faithful man?
7 A righteous man walks in integrity.
Blessed are his children after him.
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
scatters away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure.
I am clean and without sin”?
10 Differing weights and differing measures,
both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his doings,
whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Yahweh has made even both of them.
13 Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty.
Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;
but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of rubies,
but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;
and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
17 Fraudulent food is sweet to a man,
but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
18 Plans are established by advice;
by wise guidance you wage war!
19 He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets;
therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother,
his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
won’t be blessed in the end.
22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”
Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
23 Yahweh detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales are not pleasing.
24 A man’s steps are from Yahweh;
how then can man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication,
then later to consider his vows.
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked,
and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27 The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp,
searching all his innermost parts.
28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.
His throne is sustained by love.
29 The glory of young men is their strength.
The splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30 Wounding blows cleanse away evil,
and beatings purge the innermost parts.
Proverbs 20
Expanded Bible
20 Wine and ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain] make people ·loud [mockers] and ·uncontrolled [carousers; brawlers];
it is not wise to ·get drunk on [L be led astray by] them.
2 An angry king is like a ·roaring [growling] lion.
Making him angry may cost you your life.
3 Foolish people are always fighting,
but ·avoiding quarrels [backing away from an accusation] will bring you ·honor [glory; praise].
4 Lazy farmers don’t plow ·when they should [L in the winter];
they ·expect [look for] a harvest, but there is none.
5 People’s ·thoughts [advice; purpose] can be like a deep ·well [L waters],
but someone with understanding can ·find the wisdom there [draw it out].
6 Many people claim to be loyal,
but it is hard to find a ·trustworthy [reliable] person.
7 The ·good [righteous] people who ·live honest lives [walk about in innocence]
will be a blessing to their children.
8 When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he ·knows evil when he sees it [or scatters evil with his eyes].
9 No one can say, “I am innocent;
I ·have never done anything wrong [am cleansed from my sin].”
10 The Lord hates both these things:
·dishonest weights and dishonest measures [L stone and stone, ephah and ephah].
11 Even children are known by their behavior;
their actions show if they are ·innocent [pure] and ·good [upright].
12 The Lord has made both these things:
ears to hear and eyes to see.
13 ·If you love to sleep, you [L Do not love to sleep, or you] will be poor.
·If you stay awake [L Keep your eyes open, and], you will have plenty of food.
14 Buyers say, “·This is bad. It’s no good [L Bad, bad].”
Then they go away and brag about what they bought.
15 There is gold and plenty of ·rubies [or pearls],
but ·only a few people speak with knowledge [L the most precious jewels are knowledgeable lips].
16 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,
and keep it until he pays what the ·stranger [L foreigner] owes.
17 ·Stolen [Fraudulent; False] food may taste sweet at first,
but later it will feel like a mouth full of gravel.
18 Get advice if you want your plans to ·work [be firm].
If you go to war, get ·the advice of others [guidance].
19 Gossips ·can’t keep [reveal] secrets,
so avoid people who ·talk too much [L are foolish with their lips].
20 Those who curse their father or mother
will be like a light going out in darkness [Job 18:6; 21:17].
21 Wealth inherited quickly in the beginning
will ·do you no good [not bless you] in the end.
22 Don’t say, “I’ll pay you back for the wrong you did.”
Wait for the Lord, and he will ·make things right [save you; Rom. 12:17–20].
23 The Lord ·hates [detests] ·dishonest weights [L stone and stone],
and ·dishonest [fraudulent] scales ·do not please him [L are not good].
24 The Lord decides ·what a person will do [L the steps of a person];
·no one understands what his life is all about [L how can people understand their path?].
25 It’s ·dangerous [L a trap] to ·promise something to God too quickly [speak rashly about holy things].
·After you’ve thought about it, it may be too late [L And to think about it after you made a vow; Lev. 7:16–17; 22:18–23; Judg. 11:29–40; Eccl. 5:1–7].
26 A wise king ·sorts out [winnows; scatters] the evil people,
and he ·punishes them as they deserve [L rolls a threshing sledge over them].
27 The lamp of the Lord looks deep inside people
and searches through ·their thoughts [L all their inner parts].
28 Loyalty and ·truth [faithfulness] ·keep a king in power [protect a king];
he ·continues to rule [supports his throne] if he is loyal.
29 The young glory in their strength,
and the old are honored for their gray hair.
30 ·Hard punishment [L Blows and bruises] ·will get rid of [cleanses away] evil,
and ·whippings [beatings] ·can change an evil heart [L the inner parts].
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