Proverbs 20

¹It is a luxurious thing, wine, and inebriation is tumultuous. Anyone who is delighted by this will not be wise

²Just like the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king. Whoever provokes him sins in his own soul

³Honor is for the man who separates himself from contentions. But all the foolish meddle in altercations

⁴Because of the cold, the lazy one was not willing to plough. Therefore, in the summer, he will beg, and it will not be given to him

⁵Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep waters. But a wise man will draw it out

⁶Many men are called merciful. But who will find a faithful man

⁷The just who walks in his simplicity shall leave behind him blessed sons

⁸The king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his gaze

⁹Who is able to say: “My heart is clean. I am pure from sin?

¹⁰Diverse weights, diverse measures: both are abominable with God

¹¹A child may be understood by his interests: whether his works may be clean and upright

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye: the Lord has made them both

¹³Do not love sleep, lest deprivation oppress you. Open your eyes and be satisfied with bread

¹⁴“It is bad, it is bad,” says every buyer; and when he has withdrawn, then he will boast

¹⁵There is gold, and there are a multitude of jewels. But lips of knowledge are a precious vessel

¹⁶Take away the vestments of him who stands up to vouch for a stranger, and take a pledge from him instead of from outsiders

¹⁷The bread of lies is sweet to a man. But afterwards, his mouth will be filled with pebbles

¹⁸Plans are strengthened by counsels. And wars are to be handled by governments

¹⁹Do not become involved with him who reveals mysteries, and who walks deceitfully, and who enlarges his lips

²⁰Whoever curses his father and mother, his lamp will be extinguished in the midst of darkness

²¹When an inheritance is obtained hastily in the beginning, in the end it will be without a blessing

²²Do not say, “I will repay evil.” Wait for the Lord, and he will free you

²³Diverse weights are an abomination with the Lord. A deceitful balance is not good

²⁴The steps of men are directed by the Lord. But who is the man able to understand his own way

²⁵It is ruin for a man to devour what is holy, or, after making vows, to retract them

²⁶A wise king scatters the impious and bends an archway over them

²⁷The spirit of a man is a lamp to the Lord, which investigates all the secrets of the inner self

²⁸Mercy and truth guard the king, and his throne is strengthened by clemency

²⁹The joy of youths is their strength. And the dignity of old men is their grey hairs

³⁰The bruise of a wound, as well as scourges, shall wipe away evils in the more secret places of the inner self