Proverbs 20

1Wine is deceiving, and alcohol causes fighting; everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom.

2People should be afraid of an angry king, like they are of a lion that roars. If you make the king angry, you can lose your life.

3It is an honor for people to stop from strife: Any fool can start an argument.

4Because of the cold a lazy person will not prepare their fields: then in the summer they shall beg for food, and no one shall give to them.

5Getting information from someone can be like getting water from a deep well. If you are wise, you can draw it out.

6There are many people who say: ‘You can trust me.’ But there are only a few of them that do what they promise.

7Good people live in the right way and are honest. God blesses their children who live like they do.

8When a king sits on a throne to judge people, that king can see through evil with sharp eyes.

9No one can say, I have made my heart clean, have never done anything sinful.

10The LORD hates people that use the wrong weights and measures to cheat others.

11Even children show what they are like by the things they do. You can see if their actions are pure and right.

12The Lord has given some people ears to hear and some people eyes to see.

13Do not love excessive sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes so that you can do your work and you will be satisfied with bread.

14When a person is buying something, they always say, “It's no good. It costs too much.” Then they go away and tell others what a good deal they got.

15There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; But the words of someone who is wise are even more precious.

16Take the garment of anyone who puts up collateral for a stranger; hold it in pledge if that person does it for an unfamiliar woman.

17If you have cheated someone to get food, it will taste good in the beginning but in the end, The guilt and consequence will be bitter.

18Get good advice before you make your plans. Before you start a war, ask for the advice of wise advisors.

19A gossip goes around telling secrets. Don't be friends with someone who does not care what that person says.

20Those who would curse their father or mother are like a lamp that goes out in the darkest night.

21If a person gets an inheritance too quickly, while that person is still young, it will not be a blessing in the end.

22Don't say, "I will get even for this wrong." Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.

23The Lord hates people who cheat when they weigh things and who are dishonest

24No person knows what will happen to that person. It is the Lord who decides what will happen to us.

25Think carefully before you promise to give something to God. Later, you might wish you had not made that promise.

26A king who is wise can find out who is guilty and punish those who have done wrong.

27The LORD gave us our mind and conscience; we cannot hide our thoughts and doings from Him.

28Mercy and truth protect a king, and his throne is made secure by mercy.

29We admire a young man for his strength, but we respect an old man for his gray hair.

30Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.