Proverbs 20
1 Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2 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.
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
3 [People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
4 [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.
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
5 [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.
The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
6 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.
Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?
7 If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.
8 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.
A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
9 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).”
Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?
10 Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
Differing weights and unequal measures — both are detestable to the LORD.
11 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].
Even a young man is known by his actions— whether his conduct is pure and upright.
12 Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.
13 If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
14 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].
“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.
15 Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
There is an abundance of gold and rubies, but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.
16 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.
Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
17 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.
Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.
18 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.
Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
19 Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
20 If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
21 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.
An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.
22 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]).
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
23 Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
24 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]
A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?
25 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.
It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.
26 Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27 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).
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.
28 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.
Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.
29 We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
30 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.
Lashes and wounds scour evil, and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.
