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Proverbs 20

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

Proverbs 21

¹The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
² Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
³ To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
  the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
⁶ The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
⁸The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is upright.
⁹It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil;
his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
¹¹When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
¹²The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he throws the wicked down to ruin.
¹³ Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
¹⁴ A gift in secret averts anger,
and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.
¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.
¹⁶One who wanders from the way of good sense
  will rest in the assembly of the dead.
¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
¹⁸ The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the traitor for the upright.
¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
²⁰ Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.
²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life, righteousness, and honor.
²² A wise man scales the city of the mighty
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
²³ Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
  keeps himself out of trouble.
²⁴ "Scoffer" is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
who acts with arrogant pride.
²⁵The desire of the sluggard kills him,
for his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶All day long he craves and craves,
but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
²⁸ A false witness will perish,
but the word of a man who hears will endure.
²⁹A wicked man puts on a bold face,
but the upright gives thought to his ways.
³⁰ No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
can avail against the LORD.
³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the LORD.

Proverbs 22

¹ A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
² The rich and the poor meet together;
the LORD is the maker of them all.
³ The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
⁴The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
is riches and honor and life.
⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
⁷ The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
⁸Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of his fury will fail.
⁹ Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
¹⁰ Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,
and quarreling and abuse will cease.
¹¹He who loves purity of heart,
and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
¹²The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
¹³ The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!"
¹⁴The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;
  he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
¹⁶Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.