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 scorner — strong drink [is] noisy, And any going astray in it 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 fear of a king [is] a growl as of a young lion, He who is causing him to be wroth is wronging his soul.
3 [People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
An honour to a man is cessation from strife, And every fool intermeddleth.
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.
Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.
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.
Counsel in the heart of a man [is] deep water, And a man of understanding draweth it up.
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.
A multitude of men proclaim each his kindness, And a man of stedfastness who doth find?
7 If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
The righteous is walking habitually in his integrity, O the happiness of his sons 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 sitting on a throne of judgment, Is scattering with his eyes all evil,
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 saith, 'I have purified my heart, I have been cleansed from my sin?'
10 Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah, Even both of them [are] an abomination to Jehovah.
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 by his actions a youth maketh himself known, Whether his work be pure or upright.
12 Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
A hearing ear, and a seeing eye, Jehovah hath made even both of them.
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.
Love not sleep, lest thou become poor, Open thine eyes — be satisfied [with] bread.
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].
'Bad, bad,' saith the buyer, And going his way then he boasteth himself.
15 Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
Substance, gold, and a multitude of rubies, Yea, a precious vessel, [are] lips of knowledge.
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 his garment when a stranger hath been surety, And for strangers pledge it.
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.
Sweet to a man [is] the bread of falsehood, And afterwards is his mouth filled [with] 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.
Purposes by counsel thou dost establish, And with plans make thou war.
19 Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
A revealer of secret counsels is the busybody, And for a deceiver [with] his lips make not thyself surety.
20 If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
Whoso is vilifying his father and his mother, Extinguished is his lamp in blackness of 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 gotten wrongly at first, Even its latter end is not blessed.
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 recompense evil,' Wait for Jehovah, and He delivereth thee.
23 Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
An abomination to Jehovah [are] a stone and a stone, And balances of deceit [are] not 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]
From Jehovah [are] the steps of a man, And man — how understandeth he his 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.
A snare to a man [is] he hath swallowed a holy thing, And after vows to make inquiry.
26 Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
A wise king is scattering the wicked, And turneth back on them the wheel.
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 breath of man [is] a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart.
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.
Kindness and truth keep a king, And he hath supported by kindness his throne.
29 We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
The beauty of young men is their strength, And the honour of old men is grey hairs.
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.
The bandages of a wound thou removest with the evil, Also the plagues of the inner parts of the heart!
