Proverbs 20

CHAPTER 20

Hope in Yahweh and He Will Save You

^1aWine is a mocker, ^bstrong drink a brawler,

And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;

He who provokes him to anger ^asins against his own soul.

³It is a glory for a man to ^acease quarreling,

But any ignorant fool will break out in dispute.

⁴The ^asluggard does not plow from winter on,

So he ¹begs during the harvest and has nothing.

⁵Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water,

But a man of discernment draws it out.

⁶Many a man will ^acall out his own lovingkindness,

But a ^bfaithful man, who can find?

⁷A righteous man who ^awalks in his integrity—

^bHow blessed are his sons after him.

^8aA king who sits on the throne of justice

¹Disperses all evil with his eyes.

^9aWho can say, “I have kept my heart pure,

I am clean from my sin”?

^101aDiffering weights and differing measures,

Both of them are an abomination to Yahweh.

¹¹It is by his deeds that a young man ^amakes himself known

If his conduct is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ^aear and the seeing eye,

Yahweh has made both of them.

^13aDo not love sleep, lest you become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with ¹food.

¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold, and an abundance of pearls;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious vessel.

¹⁶Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

^17aBread obtained by lying is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

^181aThoughts are established by counsel,

So ^bmake war by guidance.

¹⁹He who ^agoes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with ^1bone of loose lips.

²⁰He who ^acurses his father or his mother,

His ^blamp will go out in the ¹midst of darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning

In the end will not be blessed.

^22aDo not say, “I will repay evil”;

^bHope in Yahweh, and He will save you.

^231aDiffering weights are an abomination to Yahweh,

And a ^bdeceitful balance is not good.

^24aThe steps of a man are from Yahweh,

How then can man understand his way?

²⁵It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And ^aafter the vows to make inquiry.

²⁶A ^awise king winnows the wicked,

And turns the ^bthreshing wheel over them.

²⁷The ^1abreath of man is the lamp of Yahweh,

Searching all the ²innermost parts of his body.

²⁸Lovingkindness and ^atruth will guard the king,

And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.

²⁹The honor of young men is their strength,

And the ^1amajesty of old men is their gray hair.

^30aStripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the ¹innermost parts of the body.