Proverbs 20–21

Deep Water in the Heart

¹20Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome—

a staggering drunk is not much fun.

²Quick-tempered leaders are like mad dogs—

cross them and they bite your head off.

³It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels,

but fools love to pick fights.

⁴A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring

has nothing to harvest in the fall.

⁵Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart;

a wise person draws from the well within.

⁶Lots of people claim to be loyal and loving,

but where on earth can you find one?

⁷God-loyal people, living honest lives,

make it much easier for their children.

^8–9Leaders who know their business and care

keep a sharp eye out for the shoddy and cheap,

For who among us can be trusted

to be always diligent and honest?

¹⁰Switching price tags and padding the expense account

are two things God hates.

¹¹Young people eventually reveal by their actions

if their motives are on the up and up.

Drinking from the Chalice of Knowledge

¹²Ears that hear and eyes that see—

we get our basic equipment from God!

¹³Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse.

Wake up and get up; then there’ll be food on the table.

¹⁴The shopper says, “That’s junk—I’ll take it off your hands,”

then goes off boasting of the bargain.

¹⁵Drinking from the beautiful chalice of knowledge

is better than adorning oneself with gold and rare gems.

¹⁶Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;

beware of accepting what a transient has pawned.

¹⁷Stolen bread tastes sweet,

but soon your mouth is full of gravel.

¹⁸Form your purpose by asking for counsel,

then carry it out using all the help you can get.

¹⁹Gossips can’t keep secrets,

so never confide in blabbermouths.

²⁰Anyone who curses father and mother

extinguishes light and exists benighted.

The Very Steps We Take

²¹A bonanza at the beginning

is no guarantee of blessing at the end.

²²Don’t ever say, “I’ll get you for that!”

Wait for God; he’ll settle the score.

²³God hates cheating in the marketplace;

rigged scales are an outrage.

²⁴The very steps we take come from God;

otherwise how would we know where we’re going?

²⁵An impulsive vow is a trap;

later you’ll wish you could get out of it.

²⁶After careful scrutiny, a wise leader

makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolts.

²⁷God is in charge of human life,

watching and examining us inside and out.

²⁸Love and truth from a good leader;

sound leadership is founded on loving integrity.

²⁹Youth may be admired for vigor,

but gray hair gives prestige to old age.

³⁰A good thrashing purges evil;

punishment goes deep within us.

God Examines Our Motives

¹21Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God;

he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

²We justify our actions by appearances;

God examines our motives.

³Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors

mean far more to God than religious performance.

⁴Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked—

are just plain sin.

⁵Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;

hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

⁶Make it to the top by lying and cheating;

get paid with smoke and a promotion—to death!

⁷The wicked get buried alive by their loot

because they refuse to use it to help others.

⁸Mixed motives twist life into tangles;

pure motives take you straight down the road.

Do Your Best, Prepare for the Worst

⁹Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack

than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

¹⁰Wicked souls love to make trouble;

they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

¹¹Simpletons only learn the hard way,

but the wise learn by listening.

¹²A God-loyal person will see right through the wicked

and undo the evil they’ve planned.

¹³If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor,

your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

¹⁴A quietly given gift soothes an irritable person;

a heartfelt present cools a hot temper.

¹⁵Good people celebrate when justice triumphs,

but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.

¹⁶Whoever wanders off the straight and narrow

ends up in a congregation of ghosts.

¹⁷You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life!

The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.

¹⁸What a bad person plots against the good, boomerangs;

the plotter gets it in the end.

¹⁹Better to live in a tent in the wild

than with a cross and petulant spouse.

²⁰Valuables are safe in a wise person’s home;

fools put it all out for yard sales.

²¹Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind

finds life itself—glorious life!

²²One sage entered a whole city of armed soldiers—

their trusted defenses fell to pieces!

²³Watch your words and hold your tongue;

you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.

²⁴You know their names—Brash, Impudent, Blasphemer—

intemperate hotheads, every one.

²⁵Lazy people finally die of hunger

because they won’t get up and go to work.

²⁶Sinners are always wanting what they don’t have;

the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

²⁷Religious performance by the wicked stinks;

it’s even worse when they use it to get ahead.

²⁸A lying witness is unconvincing;

a person who speaks truth is respected.

²⁹Unscrupulous people fake it a lot;

honest people are sure of their steps.

³⁰Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived,

can get the better of God.

³¹Do your best, prepare for the worst—

then trust God to bring victory.