Proverbs 19–20

Chapter 19

¹Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity

than a man who is perverse in speech, and is a fool.

²It is not good for a man to be without knowledge,

and he who makes haste with his feet misses his way.

³When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,

his heart rages against the Lord.

⁴Wealth brings many new friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who utters lies will not escape.

⁶Many seek the favor of a generous man,

and every one is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

⁷All a poor man’s brothers hate him;

how much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them.

⁸He who gets wisdom loves himself;

he who keeps understanding will prosper.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who utters lies will perish.

¹⁰It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,

much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹Good sense makes a man slow to anger,

and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

¹²A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion,

but his favor is like dew upon the grass.

¹³A foolish son is ruin to his father,

and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

¹⁴House and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

¹⁵Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,

and an idle person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶He who keeps the commandment keeps his life;

he who despises the word will die.

¹⁷He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he will repay him for his deed.

¹⁸Discipline your son while there is hope;

do not set your heart on his destruction.

¹⁹A man of great wrath will pay the penalty;

for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to advice and accept instruction,

that you may gain wisdom for the future.

²¹Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.

²²What is desired in a man is loyalty,

and a poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of the Lord leads to life;

and he who has it rests satisfied;

he will not be visited by harm.

²⁴The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,

and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

²⁵Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

²⁶He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother

is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

²⁷Cease, my son, to hear instruction

only to stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A worthless witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

²⁹Condemnation is ready for scoffers,

and flogging for the backs of fools.

Chapter 20

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;

and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The dread wrath of a king is like the growling of a lion;

he who provokes him to anger forfeits his life.

³It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife;

but every fool will be quarreling.

⁴The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

⁵The purpose in a man’s mind is like deep water,

but a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,

but a faithful man who can find?

⁷A righteous man who walks in his integrity—

blessed are his sons after him!

⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment

winnows all evil with his eyes.

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

I am pure from my sin”?

¹⁰Diverse weights and diverse measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

¹¹Even a child makes himself known by his acts,

whether what he does is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

the Lord has made them both.

¹³Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

¹⁴“It is bad, it is bad,” says the buyer;

but when he goes away, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;

but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take a man’s garment when he has given surety for a stranger,

and hold him in pledge when he gives surety for foreigners.

¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel;

by wise guidance wage war.

¹⁹He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.

²⁰If one curses his father or his mother,

his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

²¹An inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning

will in the end not be blessed.

²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

wait for the Lord, and he will help you.

²³Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,

and false scales are not good.

²⁴A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord;

how then can man understand his way?

²⁵It is a snare for a man to say rashly, “It is holy,”

and to reflect only after making his vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked,

and drives the wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

searching all his innermost parts.

²⁸Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,

and his throne is upheld by righteousness.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,

but the beauty of old men is their gray hair.

³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil;

strokes make clean the innermost parts.