Proverbs 20-21

20Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
²The dread anger of a king is like the growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger forfeits life itself.
³It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
⁴The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.
⁵The purposes in the human mind are like deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.
⁶Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can find one worthy of trust?
⁷The righteous walk in integrity—
happy are the children who follow them!
⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;
I am pure from my sin”?
¹⁰Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹¹Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.
¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord has made them both.
¹³Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
¹⁵There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
¹⁶Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.
¹⁸Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.
¹⁹A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a babbler.
²⁰If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.
²¹An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the Lord, and he will help you.
²³Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
²⁴All our steps are ordered by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own ways?
²⁵It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and begin to reflect only after making a vow.
²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked,
and drives the wheel over them.
²⁷The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord,
searching every inmost part.
²⁸Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
and his throne is upheld by righteousness.
²⁹The glory of youths is their strength,
but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.
³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost parts.
21The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
²All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
³To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the lamp of the wicked—are sin.
⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.
⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
⁸The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is right.
⁹It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a contentious wife.
¹⁰The souls of the wicked desire evil;
their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.
¹¹When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser;
when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.
¹²The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he casts the wicked down to ruin.
¹³If you close your ear to the cry of the poor,
you will cry out and not be heard.
¹⁴A gift in secret averts anger;
and a concealed bribe in the bosom, strong wrath.
¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous,
but dismay to evildoers.
¹⁶Whoever wanders from the way of understanding
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want;
whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.
¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the faithless for the upright.
¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land
than with a contentious and fretful wife.
²⁰Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise,
but the fool devours it.
²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life and honor.
²²One wise person went up against a city of warriors
and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted.
²³To watch over mouth and tongue
is to keep out of trouble.
²⁴The proud, haughty person, named “Scoffer,”
acts with arrogant pride.
²⁵The craving of the lazy person is fatal,
for lazy hands refuse to labor.
²⁶All day long the wicked covet,
but the righteous give and do not hold back.
²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when brought with evil intent.
²⁸A false witness will perish,
but a good listener will testify successfully.
²⁹The wicked put on a bold face,
but the upright give thought to their ways.
³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel,
can avail against the Lord.
³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the Lord.

From the oremus Bible Browser https://bible.oremus.org v2.9.2 30 June 2021.