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The Blue Letter Bible

Proverbs 20 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:2 - The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;
whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:3 - It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:4 - The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:5 - The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:6 - Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:7 - The righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed are his children after him!
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:8 - A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:9 - Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;
I am clean from my sin”?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:10 - Unequal[fn] weights and unequal measures
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:11 - Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:12 - The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:13 - Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:14 - “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
but when he goes away, then he boasts.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:15 - There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:16 - Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:17 - Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:18 - Plans are established by counsel;
by wise guidance wage war.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:19 - Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:20 - If one curses his father or his mother,
his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:21 - An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:22 - Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:23 - Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD,
and false scales are not good.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:24 - A man’s steps are from the LORD;
how then can man understand his way?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:25 - It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and to reflect only after making vows.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:26 - A wise king winnows the wicked
and drives the wheel over them.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:27 - The spirit[fn] of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:28 - Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:29 - The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 20:30 - Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
strokes make clean the innermost parts.
ESV Footnotes
Or will not become wise
Or Two kinds of; also verse 23
Or Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright
Or for an adulteress (compare 27:13)
Hebrew with one who is simple in his lips
Hebrew breath
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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Proverbs Chapter 20 — Additional Translations: