Proverbs 20–21

20Wine and beer make people loud and uncontrolled;

it is not wise to get drunk on them.

²An angry king is like a roaring lion.

Making him angry may cost you your life.

³Foolish people are always fighting,

but avoiding quarrels will bring you honor.

⁴Lazy farmers don’t plow when they should;

they expect a harvest, but there is none.

⁵People’s thoughts can be like a deep well,

but someone with understanding can find the wisdom there.

⁶Many people claim to be loyal,

but it is hard to find a trustworthy person.

⁷The good people who live honest lives

will be a blessing to their children.

⁸When a king sits on his throne to judge,

he knows evil when he sees it.

⁹No one can say, “I am innocent;

I have never done anything wrong.”

¹⁰The Lord hates both these things:

dishonest weights and dishonest measures.

¹¹Even children are known by their behavior;

their actions show if they are innocent and good.

¹²The Lord has made both these things:

ears to hear and eyes to see.

¹³If you love to sleep, you will be poor.

If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food.

¹⁴Buyers say, “This is bad. It’s no good.”

Then they go away and brag about what they bought.

¹⁵There is gold and plenty of rubies,

but only a few people speak with knowledge.

¹⁶Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,

and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes.

¹⁷Stolen food may taste sweet at first,

but later it will feel like a mouth full of gravel.

¹⁸Get advice if you want your plans to work.

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

¹⁹Gossips can’t keep secrets,

so avoid people who talk too much.

²⁰Those who curse their father or mother

will be like a light going out in darkness.

²¹Wealth inherited quickly in the beginning

will do you no good in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I’ll pay you back for the wrong you did.”

Wait for the Lord, and he will make things right.

²³The Lord hates dishonest weights,

and dishonest scales do not please him.

²⁴The Lord decides what a person will do;

no one understands what his life is all about.

²⁵It’s dangerous to promise something to God too quickly.

After you’ve thought about it, it may be too late.

²⁶A wise king sorts out the evil people,

and he punishes them as they deserve.

²⁷The Lord looks deep inside people

and searches through their thoughts.

²⁸Loyalty and truth keep a king in power;

he continues to rule if he is loyal.

²⁹The young glory in their strength,

and the old are honored for their gray hair.

³⁰Hard punishment will get rid of evil,

and whippings can change an evil heart.

21The Lord can control a king’s mind as he controls a river;

he can direct it as he pleases.

²You may believe you are doing right,

but the Lord judges your reasons.

³Doing what is right and fair

is more important to the Lord than sacrifices.

⁴Proud looks, proud thoughts,

and evil actions are sin.

⁵The plans of hard-working people earn a profit,

but those who act too quickly become poor.

⁶Wealth that comes from telling lies

vanishes like a mist and leads to death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will destroy them,

because they refuse to do what is right.

⁸Guilty people live dishonest lives,

but honest people do right.

⁹It is better to live in a corner on the roof ⁿ

than inside the house with a quarreling wife.

¹⁰Evil people only want to harm others.

Their neighbors get no mercy from them.

¹¹If you punish those who make fun of wisdom, a foolish person may gain some wisdom.

But if you teach the wise, they will get knowledge.

¹²God, who is always right, watches the house of the wicked

and brings ruin on every evil person.

¹³Whoever ignores the poor when they cry for help

will also cry for help and not be answered.

¹⁴A secret gift will calm an angry person;

a present given in secrecy will quiet great anger.

¹⁵When justice is done, good people are happy,

but evil people are ruined.

¹⁶Whoever does not use good sense

will end up among the dead.

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and perfume will never be rich.

¹⁸Wicked people will suffer instead of good people,

and those who cannot be trusted will suffer instead of those who do right.

¹⁹It is better to live alone in the desert

than with a quarreling and complaining wife.

²⁰Wise people’s houses are full of the best foods and olive oil,

but fools waste everything they have.

²¹Whoever tries to live right and be loyal

finds life, success, and honor.

²²A wise person can defeat a city full of warriors

and tear down the defenses they trust in.

²³Those who are careful about what they say

keep themselves out of trouble.

²⁴People who act with stubborn pride

are called “proud,” “bragger,” and “mocker.”

²⁵Lazy people’s desire for sleep will kill them,

because they refuse to work.

²⁶All day long they wish for more,

but good people give without holding back.

²⁷The Lord hates sacrifices brought by evil people,

particularly when they offer them for the wrong reasons.

²⁸A lying witness will be forgotten,

but a truthful witness will speak on.

²⁹Wicked people are stubborn,

but good people think carefully about what they do.

³⁰There is no wisdom, understanding, or advice

that can succeed against the Lord.

³¹You can get the horses ready for battle,

but it is the Lord who gives the victory.