Proverbs 20:9–15

9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures—

the Lord detests them both.

11 Even small children are known by their actions,

so is their conduct really pure and upright?

12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—

the Lord has made them both.

13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;

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.

9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin”?

10 Unequal weights and unequal measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

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.

9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean,

I am pure from my sin?

10 Divers weights, and divers measures,

Both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.

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.

9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart;

I am pure and free from sin”?

10 False weights and unequal measures—

the Lord detests double standards of every kind.

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.

9 No one can say, “I am innocent;

I have never done anything wrong.”

10 The Lord hates both these things:

dishonest weights and dishonest measures.

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.

9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean,

I am pure from my sin?

10 Diverse weights, and diverse measures,

Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.

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.

9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

10 Divers weights, divers measures, even both of them are abomination to Jehovah.

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.

9 Who can say, 

“I’ve made my heart pure. 

I’m cleansed from my sin”? 

10 A double standard of weights and measures— 

both are disgusting to the Lord. 

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. 

9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

I am cleansed from my sin”?

10 Differing weights and varying measures —

both are detestable to the Lord.

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.

9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Diverse weights and diverse measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

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.

9 Who will say “I have made my heart clean;

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Stone and stone, measure and measure,

both of them are an abomination of Yahweh.

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.

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

I’m clean. I haven’t sinned.”

10 The 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.

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.

9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures,

Both of them are abominable to the Lord.

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.