Proverbs 20–21

20TH CHAPTER

¹Wine ⸤makes people⸥ mock, 

liquor ⸤makes them⸥ noisy, 

and everyone under their influence is unwise. 

²The rage of a king is like the roar of a lion. 

Whoever makes him angry forfeits his life. 

³Avoiding a quarrel is honorable. 

After all, any stubborn fool can start a fight. 

⁴A lazy person does not plow in the fall.^a

He looks for something in the harvest but finds nothing. 

⁵A motive in the human heart is like deep water, 

and a person who has understanding draws it out. 

⁶Many people declare themselves loyal, 

but who can find someone who is ⸤really⸥ trustworthy? 

⁷A righteous person lives on the basis of his integrity. 

Blessed are his children after he is gone. 

⁸A king who sits on his throne to judge sifts out every evil with his eyes. 

⁹Who can say, 

“I’ve made my heart pure. 

I’m cleansed from my sin”? 

¹⁰A double standard of weights and measures— 

both are disgusting to the Lord. 

¹¹Even a child makes himself known by his actions, 

whether his deeds are pure or right. 

¹²The ear that hears, 

the eye that sees— 

the Lord made them both. 

¹³Do not love sleep or you will end up poor. 

Keep your eyes open, and you will have plenty to eat. 

¹⁴“Bad! Bad!” says the buyer. 

Then, as he goes away, he brags ⸤about his bargain⸥. 

¹⁵There are gold and plenty of jewels, 

but the lips of knowledge are precious gems. 

¹⁶Hold on to the garment of one who guarantees a stranger’s loan, 

and hold responsible the person who makes a loan on behalf of a foreigner. 

¹⁷Food gained dishonestly tastes sweet to a person, 

but afterwards his mouth will be filled with gravel. 

¹⁸Plans are confirmed by getting advice, 

and with guidance one wages war. 

¹⁹Whoever goes around as a gossip tells secrets. 

Do not associate with a person whose mouth is always open. 

²⁰The lamp of the person who curses his father and mother 

will be snuffed out in total darkness.^b

²¹An inheritance quickly obtained in the beginning 

will never be blessed in the end. 

²²Do not say, “I’ll get even with you!” 

Wait for the Lord, and he will save you. 

²³A double standard of weights is disgusting to the Lord, 

and dishonest scales are no good. 

²⁴The Lord is the one who directs a person’s steps. 

How then can anyone understand his own way? 

²⁵It is a trap for a person to say impulsively, “This is a holy offering!” 

and later to have second thoughts about those vows. 

²⁶A wise king scatters the wicked 

and then runs them over. 

²⁷A person’s soul is the Lord’s lamp. 

It searches his entire innermost being. 

²⁸Mercy and truth protect a king, 

and with mercy he maintains his throne. 

²⁹While the glory of young men is their strength, 

the splendor of older people is their silver hair. 

³⁰Brutal beatings cleanse away wickedness. 

Such beatings cleanse the innermost being. 

21ST CHAPTER

The Lord Controls Wise and Foolish People

¹The king’s heart is like streams of water. 

Both are under the Lord’s control. 

He turns them in any direction he chooses. 

²A person thinks everything he does is right, 

but the Lord weighs hearts. 

³Doing what is right and fair 

is more acceptable to the Lord than offering a sacrifice. 

⁴A conceited look and an arrogant attitude, 

which are the lamps of wicked people, are sins. 

⁵The plans of a hard-working person lead to prosperity, 

but everyone who is ⸤always⸥ in a hurry ends up in poverty. 

⁶Those who gather wealth by lying are wasting time. 

They are looking for death. 

⁷The violence of wicked people will drag them away 

since they refuse to do what is just. 

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, 

but the behavior of those who are pure is moral. 

⁹Better to live on a corner of a roof 

than to share a home with a quarreling woman. 

¹⁰The mind of a wicked person desires evil 

and has no consideration for his neighbor. 

¹¹When a mocker is punished, a gullible person becomes wise, 

and when a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge. 

¹²A righteous person wisely considers the house of a wicked person. 

He throws wicked people into disasters. 

¹³Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will call and not be answered. 

¹⁴A gift ⸤given⸥ in secret calms anger, 

and a secret bribe calms great fury. 

¹⁵When justice is done, a righteous person is delighted, 

but troublemakers are terrified. 

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of wise behavior 

will rest in the assembly of the dead. 

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will become poor. 

Whoever loves wine and expensive food will not become rich. 

¹⁸Wicked people become a ransom for righteous people, 

and treacherous people will take the place of decent people. 

¹⁹Better to live in a desert 

than with a quarreling and angry woman. 

²⁰Costly treasure and wealth are in the home of a wise person, 

but a fool devours them. 

²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and mercy 

will find life, righteousness, and honor. 

²²A wise man attacks a city of warriors 

and pulls down the strong defenses in which they trust. 

²³Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. 

²⁴An arrogant, conceited person is called a mocker. 

His arrogance knows no limits. 

²⁵The desire of a lazy person will kill him 

because his hands refuse to work. 

²⁶All day long he feels greedy, 

but a righteous person gives and does not hold back. 

²⁷The sacrifice of wicked people is disgusting, 

especially if they bring it with evil intent. 

²⁸A lying witness will die, 

but a person who listens to advice will continue to speak. 

²⁹A wicked person puts up a bold front, 

but a decent person’s way of life is his own security. 

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, and no advice 

⸤can stand up⸥ against the Lord. 

³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle, 

but the victory belongs to the Lord.