Proverbs 20

1Wine makes people mock and strong drink makes them rowdy; no one who reels under them is wise. 2A king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; anyone who angers him puts their own life at risk. 3Staying out of a fight brings honor, but every fool is ready to burst into one. 4The lazy will not plow in the cold season; at harvest they look for a crop and find nothing. 5A person’s real intentions lie deep, like water in a well, but someone with understanding can bring them up. 6Plenty of people speak of their own loyalty, but who can find one who is really faithful? 7The righteous live with integrity; how blessed are their children after them! 8A king seated on his judgment throne sifts out every evil with a look. 9Who can say, “My heart is pure; I am cleansed of my sin”? 10Two sets of weights, two sizes of measure: the LORD detests them both. 11Even the young show who they are by what they do, whether their conduct is pure and right. 12The ear that hears and the eye that sees: the LORD is the maker of both. 13Do not love sleep, or you will end up poor; keep your eyes open, and you will have food to spare. 14“No good, no good,” says the buyer, then goes off and boasts about the bargain. 15There is gold, and jewels in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rarer treasure. 16Take the coat of one who puts up security for a stranger; if they do it for a foreign woman, hold it as a pledge. 17Bread won by deceit tastes sweet at first, but afterward it fills the mouth with grit. 18Make your plans firm by taking counsel, and wage war only with wise guidance. 19A gossip goes around giving away secrets, so have nothing to do with a person who cannot keep their mouth shut. 20Those who curse their father or mother will have their lamp snuffed out in deep darkness. 21An inheritance grabbed too early will not be blessed in the end. 22Do not say, “I will pay back this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will rescue you. 23The LORD detests two sets of weights; cheating scales are wrong. 24The LORD directs each person’s steps, so how can anyone make sense of where they are going? 25It is a trap to declare something holy without thinking and to have second thoughts only after making the vow. 26A wise king sifts the wicked like grain and rolls the threshing wheel over them. 27The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD, shining into every hidden part of a person. 28Loyal love and faithfulness keep a king safe; by loyal love he makes his throne secure. 29Young men take pride in their strength; the old wear gray hair as their honor. 30Blows that wound scour away evil, and beatings cleanse the inner self.