Previous Chapter Full Page Full Page Next Chapter

Proverbs 20 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Pro 20:1

Pro 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.[fn]

Pro 20:2

Pro 20:2The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;
whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.

Pro 20:3

Pro 20:3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.

Pro 20:4

Pro 20:4The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

Pro 20:5

Pro 20:5The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Pro 20:6

Pro 20:6Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?

Pro 20:7

Pro 20:7The righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed are his children after him!

Pro 20:8

Pro 20:8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.

Pro 20:9

Pro 20:9Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;
I am clean from my sin”?

Pro 20:10

Pro 20:10Unequal[fn] weights and unequal measures
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

Pro 20:11

Pro 20:11Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright.[fn]

Pro 20:12

Pro 20:12The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.

Pro 20:13

Pro 20:13Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

Pro 20:14

Pro 20:14“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
but when he goes away, then he boasts.

Pro 20:15

Pro 20:15There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

Pro 20:16

Pro 20:16Take 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]

Pro 20:17

Pro 20:17Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

Pro 20:18

Pro 20:18Plans are established by counsel;
by wise guidance wage war.

Pro 20:19

Pro 20:19Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.[fn]

Pro 20:20

Pro 20:20If one curses his father or his mother,
his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

Pro 20:21

Pro 20:21An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.

Pro 20:22

Pro 20:22Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

Pro 20:23

Pro 20:23Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD,
and false scales are not good.

Pro 20:24

Pro 20:24A man’s steps are from the LORD;
how then can man understand his way?

Pro 20:25

Pro 20:25It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and to reflect only after making vows.

Pro 20:26

Pro 20:26A wise king winnows the wicked
and drives the wheel over them.

Pro 20:27

Pro 20:27The spirit[fn] of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts.

Pro 20:28

Pro 20:28Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

Pro 20:29

Pro 20:29The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Pro 20:30

Pro 20:30Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
strokes make clean the innermost parts.
See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
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
Translation Copyright Logo

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.

Proverbs Chapter 20 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras