The Proverbs (WEB)

20: 1Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler;
      Whoever is let astray by them is not wise.

 20:2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion:
      He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

 20:3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife;
      But every fool will be quarreling.

 20:4The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
      Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

 20:5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
      But a man of understanding will draw it out.

 20:6Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,
      But who can find a faithful man?

 20:7A righteous man who walks in his integrity,
      Blessed are his children after him.

 20:8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
      Scatters away all evil with his eyes.

 20:9Who can say, "I have made my heart pure.
      I am clean and without sin?"

 20:10Differing weights and differing measures,
      Both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.

 20:11Even a child makes himself known by his doings,
      Whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.

 20:12The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
      Yahweh has made even both of them.

 20:13Don't love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
      Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.

 20:14"It's no good, it's no good," says the buyer;
      But when he is gone his way, then he boasts.

 20:15There is gold and abundance of rubies;
      But the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.

 20:16Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;
      And hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.

 20:17Fraudulent food is sweet to a man,
      But afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.

 20:18Plans are established by advice;
      By wise guidance you wage war!

 20:19He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets;
      Therefore don't keep company with him who opens wide his lips.

 20:20Whoever curses his father or his mother,
      His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

 20:21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning,
      Won't be blessed in the end.

 20:22Don't say, "I will pay back evil."
      Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.

 20:23Yahweh detests differing weights,
      And dishonest scales are not pleasing.

 20:24A man's steps are from Yahweh;
      How then can man understand his way?

 20:25It is a snare to a man make a rash dedication,
      And later reconsider his vows.

 20:26A wise king winnows out the wicked,
      And drives the threshing wheel over them.

 20:27The spirit of man is Yahweh's lamp,
      Searching all his innermost parts.

 20:28Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.
      His throne is sustained by love.

 20:29The glory of young men is their strength.
      The splendor of old men is their gray hair.

 20:30Wounding blows cleanse away evil,
      And beatings purge the innermost parts.

 

World English Bible