20:1 Wine 1 is a mocker 2 and strong drink is a brawler;
whoever goes astray by them is not wise. 3
20:2 The king’s terrifying anger 4 is like the roar of a lion;
whoever provokes him 5 sins against himself. 6
20:3 It is an honor for a person 7 to cease 8 from strife,
but every fool quarrels. 9
20:4 The sluggard will not plow 10 during the planting season, 11
so at harvest time he looks 12 for the crop 13 but has nothing.
20:5 Counsel 14 in a person’s heart 15 is like 16 deep water, 17
but an understanding person 18 draws it out.
20:6 Many people profess their loyalty, 19
but a faithful person 20 – who can find? 21
20:7 The righteous person 22 behaves in integrity; 23
blessed are his children after him. 24
20:8 A king sitting on the throne to judge 25
separates out 26 all evil with his eyes. 27
20:9 Who can say, 28 “I have kept my heart clean; 29
I am pure 30 from my sin”?
20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures 31 –
the Lord abhors 32 both of them.
20:11 Even a young man 33 is known 34 by his actions,
whether his activity is pure and whether it is right. 35
20:12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees 36 –
the Lord has made them both. 37
20:13 Do not love sleep, 38 lest you become impoverished;
open your eyes so that 39 you might be satisfied with food. 40
20:14 “It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” 41 says the buyer, 42
but when he goes on his way, he boasts. 43
20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of rubies,
but 44 words of knowledge 45 are like 46 a precious jewel.
20:16 Take a man’s 47 garment 48 when he has given security for a stranger, 49
and when he gives surety for strangers, 50 hold him 51 in pledge.
20:17 Bread gained by deceit 52 tastes sweet to a person, 53
but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel. 54
20:18 Plans 55 are established by counsel,
so 56 make war 57 with guidance.
20:19 The one who goes about gossiping 58 reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate 59 with someone who is always opening his mouth. 60
20:20 The one who curses 61 his father and his mother,
his lamp 62 will be extinguished in the blackest 63 darkness.
20:21 An inheritance gained easily 64 in the beginning
will not be blessed 65 in the end. 66
20:22 Do not say, 67 “I will pay back 68 evil!”
Wait 69 for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you. 70
20:23 The Lord abhors 71 differing weights,
and dishonest scales are wicked. 72
20:24 The steps of a person 73 are ordained by 74 the Lord –
so how can anyone 75 understand his own 76 way?
20:25 It is a snare 77 for a person 78 to rashly cry, 79 “Holy!”
and only afterward to consider 80 what he has vowed. 81
20:26 A wise king separates out 82 the wicked;
he turns the threshing wheel over them. 83
20:27 The human spirit 84 is like 85 the lamp 86 of the Lord,
searching all his innermost parts. 87
20:28 Loyal love and truth 88 preserve a king,
and his throne is upheld by loyal love. 89
20:29 The glory 90 of young men is their strength,
and the splendor 91 of old men is gray hair. 92
20:30 Beatings and wounds cleanse away 93 evil,
and floggings cleanse 94 the innermost being. 95
21:1 The king’s heart 96 is in the hand 97 of the Lord like channels of water; 98
he turns it wherever he wants.
21:2 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, 99
but the Lord evaluates 100 the motives. 101
21:3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable 102 to the Lord than sacrifice. 103
21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart –
the agricultural product 104 of the wicked is sin.
21:5 The plans of the diligent 105 lead 106 only to plenty, 107
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. 108
21:6 Making a fortune 109 by a lying tongue is like 110 a vapor driven back and forth; 111
they seek death. 112
21:7 The violence 113 done by the wicked 114 will drag them away
because 115 they refuse to do what is right. 116
21:8 The way of the guilty person 117 is devious, 118
but as for the pure, 119 his way is upright.
21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop 120
than in a house in company 121 with a quarrelsome wife. 122
21:10 The appetite 123 of the wicked desires 124 evil;
his neighbor is shown no favor 125 in his eyes.
21:11 When a scorner is punished, the naive 126 becomes wise;
when a wise person is instructed, 127 he gains knowledge.
21:12 The Righteous One 128 considers 129 the house 130 of the wicked;
he overthrows the wicked to their ruin. 131
21:13 The one who shuts his ears 132 to the cry 133 of the poor,
he too will cry out and will not be answered. 134
21:14 A gift given 135 in secret subdues 136 anger,
and a bribe given secretly 137 subdues 138 strong wrath. 139
21:15 Doing 140 justice brings 141 joy to the righteous
and terror 142 to those who do evil.
21:16 The one who wanders 143 from the way of wisdom 144
will end up 145 in the company of the departed. 146
21:17 The one who loves 147 pleasure 148 will be 149 a poor person; 150
whoever loves wine and anointing oil 151 will not be rich.
21:18 The wicked become 152 a ransom 153 for the righteous,
and the faithless 154 are taken 155 in the place of the upright.
21:19 It is better to live 156 in a desert land 157
than with a quarrelsome and easily-provoked 158 woman.
21:20 There is desirable treasure and olive oil 159 in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish person 160 devours all he has. 161
21:21 The one who pursues righteousness and love 162
finds life, bounty, 163 and honor.
21:22 The wise person 164 can scale 165 the city of the mighty
and bring down the stronghold 166 in which they trust. 167
21:23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue 168
keeps his life 169 from troubles. 170
21:24 A proud 171 and arrogant 172 person, whose name is “Scoffer,” 173
acts 174 with overbearing pride. 175
21:25 What the sluggard desires 176 will kill him, 177
for his hands 178 refuse to work.
21:26 All day long he craves greedily, 179
but the righteous gives and does not hold back. 180
21:27 The wicked person’s sacrifice 181 is an abomination;
how much more 182 when he brings it with evil intent! 183
21:28 A lying witness 184 will perish, 185
but the one who reports accurately speaks forever. 186
21:29 A wicked person 187 shows boldness with his face, 188
but as for the upright, 189 he discerns 190 his ways.
21:30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,
and there is no counsel against 191 the Lord. 192
21:31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but the victory is from the Lord. 193
22:1 A good name 194 is to be chosen 195 rather than great wealth,
good favor 196 more than silver or gold.
22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; 197
the Lord is the creator of them both. 198
22:3 A shrewd person 199 sees danger 200 and hides himself,
but the naive keep right on going 201 and suffer for it. 202
22:4 The reward 203 for humility 204 and fearing the Lord 205
is riches and honor and life.
22:5 Thorns and snares 206 are in the path of the perverse,
but the one who guards himself keeps far from them.
22:6 Train 207 a child 208 in the way that he should go, 209
and when he is old he will not turn from it. 210
22:7 The rich rule over 211 the poor,
and the borrower is servant 212 to the lender.
22:8 The one who sows 213 iniquity will reap trouble,
and the rod of his fury 214 will end.
22:9 A generous person 215 will be blessed, 216
for he gives some of his food 217 to the poor.
22:10 Drive out the scorner 218 and contention will leave;
strife and insults will cease. 219
22:11 The one who loves a pure heart 220
and whose speech is gracious 221 – the king will be his friend. 222
22:12 The eyes of the Lord 223 guard knowledge, 224
but he overthrows the words of the faithless person. 225
22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion 226 outside!
I will be killed in the middle of the streets!” 227
22:14 The mouth 228 of an adulteress is like 229 a deep pit; 230
the one against whom the Lord is angry 231 will fall into it. 232
22:15 Folly is bound up 233 in the heart of a child, 234
but the rod of discipline 235 will drive it far from him.
22:16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain
and the one who gives to the rich 236 – both end up only in poverty.
22:17 Incline your ear 238 and listen to the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my instruction. 239
22:18 For it is pleasing if 240 you keep these sayings 241 within you,
and 242 they are ready on your lips. 243
22:19 So that 244 your confidence may be in the Lord,
I am making them known to you today 245 – even you.
22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings 246 for you,
sayings 247 of counsel and knowledge,
22:21 to show you true and reliable words, 248
so that you may give accurate answers 249 to those who sent you?
22:22 Do not exploit 250 a poor person because he is poor
and do not crush the needy in court, 251
22:23 for the Lord will plead their case 252
and will rob those who are robbing 253 them.
22:24 Do not make friends with an angry person, 254
and do not associate with a wrathful person,
22:25 lest you learn 255 his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare. 256
22:26 Do not be one who strikes hands in pledge
or who puts up security for debts.
22:27 If you do not have enough to pay,
your bed 257 will be taken 258 right out from under you! 259
22:28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone 260
which was put in place by your ancestors. 261
22:29 Do you see a person skilled 262 in his work?
He will take his position before kings;
he will not take his position 263 before obscure people. 264
23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
consider carefully 265 what 266 is before you,
23:2 and put a knife to your throat 267
if you possess a large appetite. 268
23:3 Do not crave that ruler’s 269 delicacies,
for 270 that food is deceptive. 271
23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself. 272
23:5 When you gaze upon riches, 273 they are gone,
for they surely make wings for themselves,
and fly off into the sky like an eagle! 274
23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person, 275
do not crave his delicacies;
23:7 for he is 276 like someone calculating the cost 277 in his mind. 278
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you;
23:8 you will vomit up 279 the little bit you have eaten,
and will have wasted your pleasant words. 280
23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool, 281
for he will despise the wisdom of your words. 282
23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,
or take over 283 the fields of the fatherless,
23:11 for their Protector 284 is strong;
he will plead their case against you. 285
23:12 Apply 286 your heart to instruction
and your ears to the words of knowledge.
23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
23:14 If you strike 287 him with the rod,
you will deliver him 288 from death. 289
23:15 My child, 290 if your heart is wise,
then my heart also will be glad;
23:16 my soul 291 will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right. 292
23:17 Do not let your heart envy 293 sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord 294 all the time.
23:18 For surely there is a future, 295
and your hope will not be cut off. 296
23:19 Listen, my child, 297 and be wise,
and guide your heart on the right way.
23:20 Do not spend time 298 among drunkards, 299
among those who eat too much 300 meat,
23:21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,
and drowsiness 301 clothes them with rags. 302
23:22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23:23 Acquire 303 truth and do not sell it –
wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.
23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; 304
whoever fathers a wise child 305 will have joy in him.
23:25 May your father and your mother have joy;
may she who bore you rejoice. 306
23:26 Give me your heart, my son, 307
and let your eyes observe my ways;
23:27 for a prostitute is like 308 a deep pit;
a harlot 309 is like 310 a narrow well. 311
23:28 Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, 312
and increases the unfaithful 313 among men. 314
23:29 Who has woe? 315 Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness 316 of the eyes?
23:30 Those who linger over wine,
those who go looking for mixed wine. 317
23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles 318 in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly. 319
23:32 Afterward 320 it bites like a snake,
and stings like a viper.
23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, 321
and your mind will speak perverse things.
23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst 322 of the sea,
and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. 323
23:35 You will say, 324 “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!
They beat me, but I did not know it! 325
When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” 326