Proverbs 20
1 Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is rowdy; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2 The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; whoever provokes him risks his own life.
3 It is an honor for a man to avoid a quarrel, but every fool bursts out in anger.
4 The lazy person does not plow in the cold season; at harvest time he looks and finds nothing.
5 A person’s purpose lies deep in the heart, but someone with understanding draws it out.
6 Many people proclaim their own loyal love, but who can find someone truly faithful?
7 The righteous person walks in integrity; blessed are the children who come after him.
8 A king seated on the throne of judgment sifts out all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean of my sin”?
10 Two kinds of weights and two kinds of measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
11 Even a young person is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—the LORD made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor; open your eyes and you will have plenty of bread.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but when he goes away, he boasts.
15 There is gold and plenty of coral, but lips that speak knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of anyone who guarantees a stranger’s debt; take a pledge from him for the foreign woman.
17 Bread gained by deceit tastes sweet to a person, but afterward his mouth is filled with gravel.
18 Plans are established by counsel; wage war with sound strategy.
19 A gossip reveals secrets; do not associate with someone who talks too much.
20 Whoever curses his father and mother will have his lamp put out in deepest darkness.
21 An inheritance gained too quickly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil.” Wait for the LORD, and he will save you.
23 Two kinds of weights are detestable to the LORD, and a dishonest scale is not good.
24 A person’s steps come from the LORD; how, then, can anyone understand his own way?
25 It is a trap for someone to say thoughtlessly, “It is sacred,” and only afterward consider the vows.
26 A wise king sifts out the wicked and rolls the wheel over them.
27 The spirit of a human being is the LORD’s lamp, searching every hidden part within.
28 Loyal love and faithfulness protect the king; by loyal love his throne is upheld.
29 The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of the old is their gray hair.
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil, and beatings reach the innermost parts.
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