Proverbs 20
20
1Wine #Gen. 9:21; Prov. 23:29–35; Is. 28:7; Hos. 4:11is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3#Prov. 17:14It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
4#Prov. 10:4The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
#Prov. 19:15He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
6Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
7#2 Cor. 1:12The righteous man walks in his integrity;
#Ps. 37:26His children are blessed after him.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9#(1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36); Job 9:30, 31; 14:4; (Ps. 51:5; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:9; 1 John 1:8)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?
10#Deut. 25:13Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.
11Even a child is #Matt. 7:16known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12#Ex. 4:11; Ps. 94:9The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.
13#Rom. 12:11Do 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.
15There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But #(Job 28:12–19; Prov. 3:13–15)the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16#Prov. 22:26Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17#Prov. 9:17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18#Prov. 24:6Plans are established by counsel;
#Luke 14:31By wise counsel wage war.
19#Prov. 11:13He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one #Rom. 16:18who flatters with his lips.
20#Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 30:11; Matt. 15:4Whoever curses his father or his mother,
#Job 18:5, 6; Prov. 24:20His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21#Prov. 28:20An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
#Hab. 2:6Will not be blessed at the end.
22#(Deut. 32:35); Prov. 17:13; 24:29; (Rom. 12:17–19); 1 Thess. 5:15; (1 Pet. 3:9)Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;
#2 Sam. 16:12Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
23Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good.
24A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way?
25It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26#Ps. 101:8A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
27#1 Cor. 2:11The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
28#Ps. 101:1; Prov. 21:21Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29The glory of young men is their strength,
And #Prov. 16:31the splendor of old men is their gray head.
30Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
