Proverbs 20

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

1Wine makes fools of people. Strong drink starts fights. Anyone tricked by them is not wise.

2The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.

2A king's anger is scary, like a lion's roar. Making him angry can cost you your life.

3It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

3It brings a person honor to end a fight. But any fool will keep on arguing.

4The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

4A lazy man will not plow when it is cold. So at harvest time he looks for food and finds nothing.

5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

5What a person plans deep inside is like deep water. Someone wise can draw those plans out.

6Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

6Many people say how loving and loyal they are. But who can find someone you can really trust?

7The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

7A good man lives an honest life. Good things come to his children after him.

8A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

8A king sits in his chair to decide what is right. His eyes pick out every evil thing.

9Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

9Who can say, "I have kept my heart clean. I have no sin in me"?

10Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.

10Weights that do not match, and measures that cheat. The LORD hates both of them.

NoteLong ago people bought and sold using stone weights and measuring cups. A cheater kept two sets, a heavy one for buying and a light one for selling.

11Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

11Even a child shows who he is by what he does. You can see if his ways are pure and right.

12The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.

12Ears that hear and eyes that see. The LORD made them both.

13Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

13Do not love sleep, or you will end up poor. Open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

14It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.

14"It's no good, it's no good," says the buyer. Then he walks away and brags about his deal.

15There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

15There is plenty of gold, and there are many rubies. But lips that speak wisdom are a rarer treasure.

16Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

16Someone promised to pay a stranger's debt. Take his coat and hold it until the debt is paid.

NoteWhen someone promised to pay another person's debt, the lender could keep his coat as a promise. He got the coat back when the debt was paid.

17Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

17Food you got by cheating tastes sweet at first. Later your mouth is full of gravel.

18Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

18Plans work out when you ask others for advice. Do not go to war without good guidance.

19He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

19A person who gossips tells other people's secrets. Stay away from someone whose lips never stop talking.

20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

20Whoever says hateful words about his father or mother will have his lamp put out. He will be left in the deepest dark.

21An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

21Money grabbed in a hurry may seem good at first. But in the end it will not turn out well.

22Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

22Do not say, "I will pay back the wrong done to me." Wait for the LORD. He will save you.

23Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.

23The LORD hates weights that do not match. Scales that cheat are no good at all.

24Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

24The LORD guides the steps a person takes. So how can anyone fully understand his own way?

25It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.

25It is a trap to promise God something without thinking. Later you wish you could take the promise back.

26A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.

26A wise king picks out the people who do evil. He rolls the heavy threshing wheel over them.

NoteA threshing wheel was a heavy roller pulled over cut grain. It crushed the stalks so the good seed could be gathered.

27The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

27The spirit inside a person is the LORD's lamp. It shines into everything hidden deep within.

28Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

28Love and truth keep a king safe. His throne, the seat he rules from, stands firm because of love.

29The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.

29Young men are proud of how strong they are. Gray hair is the beauty of old men.

30The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

30Blows that leave bruises scrub away evil. Beatings clean out what is deep inside.