Proverbs 20–21

20Wine causes you to make fun of others, and beer causes you to start fights.

Anyone who is led down the wrong path by them is not wise.

²A king’s anger is like a lion’s roar.

Anyone who makes him angry may lose his life.

³Avoiding a fight brings honor to a man.

But every foolish person is quick to argue.

⁴Anyone who refuses to work doesn’t plow in the right season.

When he looks for a crop at harvest time, he doesn’t find it.

⁵The purposes of a man’s heart are like deep water.

But a man who has understanding brings them out.

⁶Many claim to have love that never fails.

But who can find a faithful man?

⁷Anyone who does what is right lives without blame.

Blessed are his children after him.

⁸A king sits on his throne to judge.

He gets rid of all evil when he sees it.

⁹No one can say, “I have kept my heart pure.

I’m clean. I haven’t sinned.”

¹⁰The Lord hates two things.

He hates weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are.

He also hates measures that measure things larger or smaller than they really are.

¹¹A child is known by his actions.

He is known by whether his conduct is pure and right.

¹²The Lord has made two things.

He has made ears that hear.

He has also made eyes that see.

¹³Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor.

Stay awake, and you will have more food than you need.

¹⁴“It’s no good. It’s no good!” says a buyer.

Then off he goes and brags about what he bought.

¹⁵There is gold. There are plenty of rubies.

But lips that speak knowledge are a priceless jewel.

¹⁶Take the coat of one who puts up money for what a stranger owes.

Hold it until you get paid back if he does it for a woman who commits adultery.

¹⁷Food gained by cheating tastes sweet to a man.

But he will end up with a mouth full of sand.

¹⁸Make plans by asking for guidance.

If you go to war, get good advice.

¹⁹A person who talks about others tells secrets.

So avoid anyone who talks too much.

²⁰If anyone calls down curses on his father or mother,

his lamp will be blown out in total darkness.

²¹Property you gain quickly at the beginning

will not be blessed in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I’ll get even with you for the wrong you did to me!”

Wait for the Lord, and he will save you.

²³The Lord hates weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are.

Scales that are not honest don’t please him.

²⁴The Lord directs a man’s steps.

So how can anyone understand his own way?

²⁵A man is trapped if he makes a hasty promise to God

and only later thinks about what he said.

²⁶A wise king gets rid of evil people.

He runs the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The lamp of the Lord searches a man’s heart.

It searches deep down inside him.

²⁸Love and truth keep a king safe.

Faithful love makes his throne secure.

²⁹Young men are proud of their strength.

Gray hair brings honor to old men.

³⁰Blows and wounds wash evil away.

And beatings make you pure deep down inside.

21The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.

He directs it like a stream of water anywhere he pleases.

²Everything a man does might seem right to him.

But the Lord knows what he is thinking.

³Do what is right and fair.

The Lord accepts that more than sacrifices.

⁴Proud eyes and a proud heart are the lamp of sinful people.

But those things are evil.

⁵The plans of people who work hard succeed.

You can be sure that those in a hurry will become poor.

⁶A fortune made by people who tell lies

amounts to nothing and leads to death.

⁷The harmful things that evil people do will drag them away.

They refuse to do what is right.

⁸The path of those who are guilty is crooked.

But the conduct of those who are not guilty is honest.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof

than to share a house with a nagging wife.

¹⁰A sinful person longs to do evil.

He doesn’t show his neighbor any mercy.

¹¹When you punish someone who makes fun of others, childish people get wise.

If you teach a person who is already wise, he will get even more knowledge.

¹²The Blameless One knows where sinners live.

And he destroys them.

¹³If you refuse to listen to the cries of poor people,

you too will cry out and not be answered.

¹⁴A secret gift calms anger down.

A hidden favor softens great anger.

¹⁵When you do what is fair, you make godly people glad.

But you terrify those who do what is evil.

¹⁶A man who leaves the path of understanding

ends up with those who are dead.

¹⁷Anyone who loves pleasure will become poor.

Anyone who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

¹⁸Those who do what is evil pay the price for setting godly people free.

Those who aren’t faithful pay the price for honest people.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert

than to live with a nagging, angry wife.

²⁰The best food and olive oil are stored up in the houses of wise people.

But a foolish man eats up everything he has.

²¹Anyone who wants to be godly and loving

finds life, success and honor.

²²Those who are wise can attack a strong city.

They can pull down the place of safety its people trust in.

²³Anyone who is careful about what he says

keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴A proud person is called a “mocker.”

He thinks much too highly of himself.

²⁵Some people will die while they are still hungry.

That’s because their hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long they hunger for more.

But godly people give without holding back.

²⁷God hates sacrifices that are brought by evil people.

He hates it even more when they bring them for the wrong reason.

²⁸Witnesses who aren’t honest will die.

And anyone who listens to them will be destroyed forever.

²⁹A sinful man tries to look as if he were bold.

But an honest person thinks about how he lives.

³⁰No wisdom, wise saying or plan

can succeed against the Lord.

³¹You can prepare a horse for the day of battle.

But the power to win comes from the Lord.