20 Wine and beer make people loud and uncontrolled;
    it is not wise to get drunk on them.

² An angry king is like a roaring lion.
    Making him angry may cost you your life.

³ Foolish people are always fighting,
    but avoiding quarrels will bring you honor.

⁴ Lazy farmers don’t plow when they should;
    they expect a harvest, but there is none.

⁵ People’s thoughts can be like a deep well,
    but someone with understanding can find the wisdom there.

⁶ Many people claim to be loyal,
    but it is hard to find a trustworthy person.

⁷ The good people who live honest lives
    will be a blessing to their children.

⁸ When a king sits on his throne to judge,
    he knows evil when he sees it.

⁹ No one can say, “I am innocent;
    I have never done anything wrong.”

¹⁰ The Lord hates both these things:
    dishonest weights and dishonest measures.

¹¹ Even children are known by their behavior;
    their actions show if they are innocent and good.

¹² The Lord has made both these things:
    ears to hear and eyes to see.

¹³ If you love to sleep, you will be poor.
    If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food.

¹⁴ Buyers say, “This is bad. It’s no good.”
    Then they go away and brag about what they bought.

¹⁵ There is gold and plenty of rubies,
    but only a few people speak with knowledge.

¹⁶ Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,
    and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes.

¹⁷ Stolen 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.
    If you go to war, get the advice of others.

¹⁹ Gossips can’t keep secrets,
    so avoid people who talk too much.

²⁰ Those who curse their father or mother
    will be like a light going out in darkness.

²¹ Wealth inherited quickly in the beginning
    will do you no good 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.

²³ The Lord hates dishonest weights,
    and dishonest scales do not please him.

²⁴ The Lord decides what a person will do;
    no one understands what his life is all about.

²⁵ It’s dangerous to promise something to God too quickly.
    After you’ve thought about it, it may be too late.

²⁶ A wise king sorts out the evil people,
    and he punishes them as they deserve.

²⁷ The Lord looks deep inside people
    and searches through their thoughts.

²⁸ Loyalty and truth keep a king in power;
    he continues to rule if he is loyal.

²⁹ The young glory in their strength,
    and the old are honored for their gray hair.

³⁰ Hard punishment will get rid of evil,
    and whippings can change an evil heart.