Proverbs 20:11–17
11 Even small children are known by their actions,
so is their conduct really pured and upright?
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the Lord has made them both.e
13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;f
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer—
then goes off and boasts about the purchase.
15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledgeg if it is done for an outsider.h
17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet,i
but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.j
Proverbs 20:11–17 — English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the Lord has made them both.
13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
but when he goes away, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
11 Even a child is known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
The Lord hath made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty;
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer:
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies:
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger:
And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man;
But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Even children are known by the way they act,
whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
12 Ears to hear and eyes to see—
both are gifts from the Lord.
13 If you love sleep, you will end in poverty.
Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!
14 The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,”
then brags about getting a bargain!
15 Wise words are more valuable
than much gold and many rubies.
16 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.
17 Stolen bread tastes sweet,
but it turns to gravel in the mouth.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
11 Even a child is known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14 “It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — New Century Version (NCV)
11 Even children are known by their behavior;
their actions show if they are innocent and good.
12 The Lord has made both these things:
ears to hear and eyes to see.
13 If you love to sleep, you will be poor.
If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food.
14 Buyers say, “This is bad. It’s no good.”
Then they go away and brag about what they bought.
15 There is gold and plenty of rubies,
but only a few people speak with knowledge.
16 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,
and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes.
17 Stolen food may taste sweet at first,
but later it will feel like a mouth full of gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — American Standard Version (ASV)
11 Even a child maketh himself known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Jehovah hath made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty;
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer;
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and abundance of rubies;
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.
17 Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man;
But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Jehovah hath made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 Bad! bad! saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies; but the lips of knowledge are a precious Jewel.
16 Take his garment that is become surety for another, and hold him in pledge for strangers.
17 Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
11 Even a child makes himself known by his actions,
whether his deeds are pure or right.
12 The ear that hears,
the eye that sees—
the Lord made them both.
13 Do 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⸥.
15 There are gold and plenty of jewels,
but the lips of knowledge are precious gems.
16 Hold 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.
17 Food gained dishonestly tastes sweet to a person,
but afterwards his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
11 Even a young man is known by his actions—
if his behavior is pure and upright.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord made them both.
13 Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor;
open your eyes, and you’ll have enough to eat.
14 “It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says,
but after he is on his way, he gloats.
15 There is gold and a multitude of jewels,
but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure.
16 Take his garment,
for he has put up security for a stranger;
get collateral if it is for foreigners.
17 Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth is full of gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
11 Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord has made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
15 There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
11 Even by his acts, a young man will make himself known,
whether his acts are pure and upright.
12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees,
Yahweh has made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, lest you become poor;
open your eyes and have plenty bread.
14 “Bad, bad,” the buyer will say,
but when one goes to him, then he will boast.
15 There is gold and many costly stones,
but precious jewels are lips of knowledge.
16 Take his garment, for he has given security to a stranger,
and on behalf of a foreigner—take it as pledge.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet for the man,
but afterward, his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
11 A child is known by his actions.
He is known by whether his conduct is pure and right.
12 The Lord has made two things.
He has made ears that hear.
He has also made eyes that see.
13 Don’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.
15 There is gold. There are plenty of rubies.
But lips that speak knowledge are a priceless jewel.
16 Take 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.
17 Food gained by cheating tastes sweet to a man.
But he will end up with a mouth full of sand.
Proverbs 20:11–17 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
11 It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself
If his conduct is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made both of them.
13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;
But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
16 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;
And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.
17 Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.