Proverbs · Young's Literal Translation
Proverbs 20 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Wine [is] a scorner — strong drink [is] noisy, And any going astray in it is not wise.
1 Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2 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.
2 The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion. He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
3 An honour to a man is cessation from strife, And every fool intermeddleth.
3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
4 Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of a man [is] deep water, And a man of understanding draweth it up.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 A multitude of men proclaim each his kindness, And a man of stedfastness who doth find?
6 Many men claim to be men of unfailing love, but who can find a faithful man?
7 The righteous is walking habitually in his integrity, O the happiness of his sons after him!
7 A righteous man walks in integrity. Blessed are his children after him.
8 A king sitting on a throne of judgment, Is scattering with his eyes all evil,
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who saith, 'I have purified my heart, I have been cleansed from my sin?'
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure. I am clean and without sin”?
10 A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah, Even both of them [are] an abomination to Jehovah.
10 Differing weights and differing measures, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
11 Even by his actions a youth maketh himself known, Whether his work be pure or upright.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his doings, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
12 A hearing ear, and a seeing eye, Jehovah hath made even both of them.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Yahweh has made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou become poor, Open thine eyes — be satisfied [with] bread.
13 Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty. Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.
14 'Bad, bad,' saith the buyer, And going his way then he boasteth himself.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
15 Substance, gold, and a multitude of rubies, Yea, a precious vessel, [are] lips of knowledge.
15 There is gold and abundance of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take his garment when a stranger hath been surety, And for strangers pledge it.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
17 Sweet to a man [is] the bread of falsehood, And afterwards is his mouth filled [with] gravel.
17 Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
18 Purposes by counsel thou dost establish, And with plans make thou war.
18 Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
19 A revealer of secret counsels is the busybody, And for a deceiver [with] his lips make not thyself surety.
19 He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
20 Whoso is vilifying his father and his mother, Extinguished is his lamp in blackness of darkness.
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 An inheritance gotten wrongly at first, Even its latter end is not blessed.
21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning won’t be blessed in the end.
22 Do not say, 'I recompense evil,' Wait for Jehovah, and He delivereth thee.
22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
23 An abomination to Jehovah [are] a stone and a stone, And balances of deceit [are] not good.
23 Yahweh detests differing weights, and dishonest scales are not pleasing.
24 From Jehovah [are] the steps of a man, And man — how understandeth he his way?
24 A man’s steps are from Yahweh; how then can man understand his way?
25 A snare to a man [is] he hath swallowed a holy thing, And after vows to make inquiry.
25 It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.
26 A wise king is scattering the wicked, And turneth back on them the wheel.
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27 The breath of man [is] a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart.
27 The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts.
28 Kindness and truth keep a king, And he hath supported by kindness his throne.
28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe. His throne is sustained by love.
29 The beauty of young men is their strength, And the honour of old men is grey hairs.
29 The glory of young men is their strength. The splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30 The bandages of a wound thou removest with the evil, Also the plagues of the inner parts of the heart!
30 Wounding blows cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the innermost parts.
Cross references (30)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ephesians 5:18; Hosea 4:11; Isaiah 28:7; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Proverbs 31:4
- 2 Proverbs 19:12; Ecclesiastes 10:4; 1 Kings 2:23; Proverbs 8:36; Hosea 11:10
- 3 Proverbs 16:32; Proverbs 17:14; Proverbs 19:11; Ephesians 4:32–5:1; Proverbs 14:29
- 4 Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 13:4; Matthew 25:24–28; Matthew 25:3–10
- 5 Proverbs 18:4; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Psalm 64:6
- 6 Psalm 12:1; Matthew 6:2; Luke 18:8; Luke 22:33; Proverbs 27:2
- 7 Psalm 112:2; Psalm 37:26; Jeremiah 32:39; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Acts 2:39
- 8 Proverbs 25:5; Proverbs 20:26; Proverbs 29:14; Psalm 99:4; Psalm 92:9
- 9 Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8–10; 1 Kings 8:46; Job 14:4; Job 15:14
- 10 Proverbs 20:23; Proverbs 11:1; Proverbs 16:11; Leviticus 19:35; Deuteronomy 25:13–15
- 11 Matthew 7:16; Luke 6:43–44; Proverbs 21:8; Luke 2:46–47; Psalm 51:5
- 12 Matthew 13:13–16; Psalm 94:9; Psalm 119:18; Exodus 4:11; Ephesians 1:17–18
- 13 Romans 12:11; Proverbs 19:15; Romans 13:11; Proverbs 12:11; Proverbs 10:4
- 14 1 Thessalonians 4:6
- 15 Proverbs 8:11; Proverbs 25:12; Proverbs 16:24; Proverbs 16:16; Romans 10:14–15
- 16 Proverbs 27:13; Exodus 22:26–27; Proverbs 22:26–27; Proverbs 11:15; Proverbs 7:5
- 17 Ecclesiastes 11:9; Proverbs 9:17–18; Job 20:12–20; Lamentations 3:15–16; Hebrews 11:25
- 18 Luke 14:31; Proverbs 24:6; Proverbs 15:22; Judges 1:1–2; Proverbs 11:14
- 19 Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 13:3; Romans 16:18; Proverbs 18:8; Leviticus 19:16
- 20 Exodus 21:17; Proverbs 30:11; Proverbs 30:17; Matthew 15:4; Jude 13
- 21 1 Timothy 6:9; Proverbs 13:22; Proverbs 28:8; Proverbs 23:4; Proverbs 28:22
- 22 Romans 12:17–19; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Proverbs 24:29; Proverbs 17:13; 1 Peter 3:9
- 23 Proverbs 20:10; Hosea 12:7; Ezekiel 45:10; Proverbs 11:1; Amos 8:5
- 24 Proverbs 16:9; Jeremiah 10:23; Psalm 25:12; Psalm 37:23; Psalm 25:4
- 25 Ecclesiastes 5:4–6; Matthew 5:33; Numbers 30:2–16; Leviticus 27:9–10; Malachi 3:8–10
- 26 Proverbs 20:8; 2 Samuel 12:31; Psalm 101:5–8; 2 Samuel 4:9–12; Isaiah 28:27–28
- 27 1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 4:12–13; Job 32:8; 1 John 3:19–21; Genesis 2:7
- 28 Proverbs 16:12; Psalm 26:1; Proverbs 29:14; Psalm 101:1; Isaiah 16:5
- 29 1 John 2:14; Proverbs 16:31; Leviticus 19:32; Jeremiah 9:23–24
- 30 Hebrews 12:10; Proverbs 22:15; Proverbs 19:25; Isaiah 53:5; Isaiah 27:9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, "The Spirit of the Lord is a candle searching the secret parts of the belly." Let us reflect how near He is, and that none of the thoughts or reasonings in which we engage are hid from Him.
Because, "When the righteous King sitteth on the throne, who will glory that his heart is pure?" It may be thou dost not discover anything in thine own conscience; but He who seeth better, whose Divine glance penetrateth into deeper things, discovereth it may be something, He seeth it may be something, He discovereth something.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Here then it is further required, that each of you be found faithful in his conscience: for a faithful man it is hard to find: not that thou shouldest shew thy conscience to me, for thou art not to be judged of man's judgment; but that thou shew the sincerity of thy faith to God, who trieth the reins …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
So too it is said by Solomon, "For the wise king is the winnower of the ungodly, and he bringeth on them the wheel of the wicked.--After Thine height Thou hast multiplied the sons of men." For there is in temporal things too a multiplication, which turns away from the unity of God.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
For there be many that please themselves, and think themselves righteous; and there is another passage which goeth against them, which saith, "Who shall boast that he hath a clean heart, and that he is pure from sin?" There is then, so to speak, a limit to glorying in our conscience, namely, to know that thy faith is sincere, thy …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)