Advice on How to Live
20 Wine causes mocking, and beer causes fights;
everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom.
2 A king’s anger is like a lion’s roar;
anyone who angers him forfeits his life.
3 Avoiding strife brings a man honor,
but every fool is quarrelsome.
4 A lazy person doesn’t plow in the proper[a] season;
he looks for a harvest, but there is nothing.
5 The intentions of a person’s heart are deep waters,
but a discerning person reveals them.
6 Many claim “I’m a loyal person!”[b]
but who can find someone who truly is?
7 The righteous person lives a life of integrity;
happy are his children who follow him!
8 A king sits on a throne of justice,
sifting out all sorts of evil with his glance.
9 Who can say, “My intentions are pure;
I am clean from any sin?”
10 False[c] weights and measures—
the Lord surely detests both of them.
11 Even a child is known by his actions,
whether his deeds are pure and right.
12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees—
the Lord surely made them both.
13 Do not love sleep or you’ll become poor,
keep your eyes open and you’ll have plenty of food.
14 “This is bad, bad,” says whoever is buying—
but then he brags as he walks away after the sale.[d]
15 There is an abundance of gold and precious stones,
but lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of anyone who puts up collateral for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if he does it for an unfamiliar woman.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but later his mouth will be full of gravel.
18 Make plans by seeking advice;
make war by obtaining guidance.
19 Whoever spreads gossip betrays confidences;
so don’t get involved with someone who talks too much.
20 Whoever curses his father or mother,
his lamp will be extinguished in the deepest darkness.
21 An inheritance quickly obtained at the beginning
will not be blessed at the end.
22 Don’t say “I’ll avenge that wrong!”
Wait on the Lord and he will deliver you.
23 The Lord detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales are not good.
24 A man’s steps are directed by the Lord;
how then can anyone understand his own way?
25 It is a trap for a person to declare quickly, “This is sacred,”
and only later to have second thoughts about the vows.
26 A wise king sifts the wicked,
crushing them with the threshing wheel.
27 A person’s spirit is the lamp of the Lord;
it searches throughout one’s innermost being.
28 Gracious love and truth preserve a king;
through love his throne is made secure.
29 The glory of young men is their strength;
and the splendor of elders is their gray hair.
30 Blows that wound clean away evil;
such beatings cleanse[e] the innermost being.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:4 The Heb. lacks proper
- Proverbs 20:6 Lit. claim to be people of gracious love
- Proverbs 20:10 Or Diverse
- Proverbs 20:14 The Heb. lacks after the sale
- Proverbs 20:30 The Heb. lacks cleanse