Proverbs 20

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

Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.

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

Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.

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

[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.

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

[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.

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

[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.

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

Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.

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

If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).

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

A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.

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

There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”

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

Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.

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

Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].

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

Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.

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

If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.

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

People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].

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

Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.

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

If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.

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

People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.

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

When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.

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

Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].

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

If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.

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

If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.

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

Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).

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

Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.

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

Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]

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

You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.

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

Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].

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

Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).

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

Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.

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

We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.

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

When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.