- 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; / And whoever errs by it does not become wise.
- 20:2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion; / He who provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
- 20:3It is an honor for a man to keep away from strife, / But every fool rushes headlong into it.
- 20:4The sluggard will not plow because of winter; / Therefore he will 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 a man will proclaim his own kindness, / 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 clean; / I am pure from my sin?
- 20:10Differing weights and differing measures, / Both of them are an abomination to Jehovah.
- 20:11Even a child makes himself known by his deeds, / Whether his work is pure and whether it is upright.
- 20:12The hearing ear and the seeing eye - / Jehovah has made both of them.
- 20:13Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty; / Open your eyes, and be satisfied with bread.
- 20:14It is bad, it is bad, says the buyer; / But when he has gone away, then he boasts in his purchase.
- 20:15There is gold and an abundance of corals, / But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
- 20:16Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger, / And hold the pledge when he becomes surety for foreigners.
- 20:17The bread of falsehood is sweet to a man, / But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
- 20:18Every plan is established by counsel, / And by sound counsel make war.
- 20:19He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets; / Therefore do not associate with one who opens his lips wide.
- 20:20Whoever curses his father or his mother, / His lamp will go out in deep darkness.
- 20:21An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning / Will not be blessed in the end.
- 20:22Do not say, I will recompense evil; / Wait for Jehovah, and He will save you.
- 20:23Differing weights are an abomination to Jehovah, / And false scales are not good.
- 20:24A man's steps are ordered by Jehovah; / How then can man understand his own way?
- 20:25It is a snare to a man to rashly say, It is holy, / And after making the vows to begin to consider.
- 20:26A wise king winnows the wicked / And drives the threshing wheel over them.
- 20:27The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, / Searching all the innermost parts of the inner being.
- 20:28Lovingkindness and truth preserve the king, / And his throne is upheld by kindness.
- 20:29The glory of young men is their strength, / And the honor of old men is gray hair.
- 20:30Stripes that wound purge away evil, / And strokes reach the innermost parts of the inner being.
- 21:1The king's heart is like streams of water in the hand of Jehovah; / He turns it wherever He wishes.
- 21:2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, / But Jehovah weighs the hearts.
- 21:3To do righteousness and justice / Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
- 21:4A high look and a proud heart - / The lamp of the wicked - is sin.
- 21:5The plans of the diligent lead only to plentifulness, / But everyone who is hasty comes only to want.
- 21:6The getting of treasures by a lying tongue / Is a fleeting vapor, a snare of death.
- 21:7The violence of the wicked will sweep them away / Because they refuse to do justice.
- 21:8The way of a guilty man is crooked; / But as for the pure, his work is right.
- 21:9It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop / Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
- 21:10The soul of the wicked man desires evil; / His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
- 21:11When the scorner is punished, the simple man becomes wise; / And when the wise man is instructed, he receives knowledge.
- 21:12The righteous One considers the house of the wicked man, / Overthrowing the wicked to their ruin.
- 21:13Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor man / Also will cry and will not be heard.
- 21:14A gift in secret pacifies anger; / And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
- 21:15It is joy to the righteous man to do justice, / But it is destruction to the workers of iniquity.
- 21:16The man who wanders from the way of understanding / Will rest in the assembly of the dead.
- 21:17He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; / He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
- 21:18The wicked man is a ransom for the righteous man, / And the treacherous man is in the place of the upright.
- 21:19It is better to dwell in a desert land / Than with a contentious and vexing woman.
- 21:20There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise man, / But a foolish man swallows it up.
- 21:21He who pursues righteousness and kindness / Finds life, righteousness, and honor.
- 21:22A wise man scales the city of the mighty / And brings down the strength in which they trust.
- 21:23Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue / Keeps his soul from troubles.
- 21:24Proud, Haughty, Scorner are the names / Of him who works in the arrogance of pride.
- 21:25The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, / For his hands refuse to work.
- 21:26All day long one covets greedily, / But the righteous man gives and does not hold back.
- 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; / How much more when he brings it with evil intent!
- 21:28A false witness will perish, / But the man who hears will speak so as to endure.
- 21:29A wicked man hardens his face; / But as for the upright, he establishes his ways.
- 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding / Nor counsel that can avail against Jehovah.
- 21:31The horse is prepared for the day of battle, / But victory belongs to Jehovah.