20:1 Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink a brawler,
And whoever ①is intoxicated by it is not wise.
▷ ①Lit errs
20:2 The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
One who provokes him to anger ①forfeits his own life.
▷ ①Lit sins against
20:3 Avoiding strife is an honor for a person,
But any fool will ①quarrel.
▷ ①Lit burst out
20:4 The ①lazy one does not plow after the autumn,
So he ②begs during the harvest and has nothing.
▷ ①Lit idle ②Lit asks
20:5 A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water,
But a person of understanding draws it out.
20:6 Many a person proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a trustworthy person?
20:7 A righteous person who walks in his integrity—
How blessed are his sons after him.
20:8 A king who sits on the throne of justice
①Disperses all evil with his eyes.
▷ ①Or Sifts
20:9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
20:10 ①Differing weights and differing measures,
Both of them are abominable to the LORD.
▷ ①Lit A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah
20:11 It is by his deeds that a boy ①distinguishes himself,
If his conduct is pure and right.
▷ ①Or makes himself known
20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made both of them.
20:13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with ①food.
▷ ①Lit bread
20:14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of ①jewels;
But lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
▷ ①Or corals
20:16 Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger;
And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.
20:17 Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
20:18 Prepare plans by consultation,
And make war by wise guidance.
20:19 One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with ①a gossip.
▷ ①Lit one who opens his lips
20:20 He who curses his father or his mother,
His lamp will go out in time of darkness.
20:21 An inheritance gained in a hurry at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.
20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
20:23 ①Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD,
And a ②false scale is not good.
▷ ①Lit A stone and a stone ②Lit balance of deceit
20:24 A man’s steps are ordained by the LORD;
How then can a person understand his way?
20:25 It is a trap for a person to say carelessly, “It is holy!”
And after the vows to make inquiry.
20:26 A wise king scatters the wicked,
And ①drives a threshing wheel over them.
▷ ①Lit turns
20:27 The ①spirit of a person is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the ②innermost parts of his being.
▷ ①Lit breath ②Lit chambers of the body
20:28 ①Loyalty and truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by ②loyalty.
▷ ①I.e., covenant loyalty ②I.e., covenant loyalty
20:29 The glory of young men is their strength,
And the ①honor of old men is their gray hair.
▷ ①Or splendor
20:30 Bruising wounds clean away evil,
And blows cleanse the ①innermost parts.
▷ ①Lit chambers of the body