Proverbs — Chapter 20
Wine is a scoffer, strong drink a roisterer;No one who is muddled by them will ever grow wise.
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;Whoever provokes it forfeits life.
It is honorable for a man to desist from strife,But every fool becomes embroiled.abecomes embroiled Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
In winter sluggards do not plow;At harvesttime they seek, and find nothing.
The designs in a person’s mind arebThe designs in a person’s mind are Or “The counsel in another person’s mind is.” deep waters,But a man of understanding can draw them out.
He calls many a man his loyal friend,But who can find a faithful man?
The righteous live blamelessly;Happy are their children who come after them.
The king seated on the throne of judgmentCan winnow out all evil by his glance.
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,I am purged of my sin”?
False weights and false measures—Both are an abomination to GOD.
Children may be dissembling in their behaviorEven though their actions are blameless and proper.
The ear that hears, the eye that sees— GOD made them both.
Do not love sleep lest you be impoverished;Keep your eyes open and you will have plenty of food.
“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,Then goes away in self-congratulation.
Gold is plentiful, jewels abundant,But wise speech is a precious object.
Seize his garment, for he stood surety for another;canother Or “a stranger.” Take it as a pledge, [for he stood surety] for an unfamiliar woman.
Bread gained by fraud may be tasty to a man,But later his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Plans laid in council will succeed;Wage war with stratagems.
Whoever gives away secrets is base;Do not take up with a big-mouth.
Whoever reviles their father or mother,Will be without lamplight when darkness comes.
An estate acquired in haste at the outsetWill not be blessed in the end.
Do not say, “I will requite evil”;Put your hope in GOD and you will be delivered.
False weights are an abomination to GOD;Dishonest scales are not right.
People’s stepsdPeople’s steps Or “[Even] the steps of virile men.” are decided by GOD;What do mortals know about their own way?
It is a snare for mortals to pledge a sacred gift rashlyeto pledge a sacred gift rashly Meaning of Heb. uncertain. And after the vows to reconsider.
A wise king winnows out the wicked,And turns the wheel upon them.
A mortal’s lifebreath is GOD’s lampRevealing all their inmost parts.ftheir inmost parts Lit. “the chambers of the belly.”
Faithfulness and loyalty protect the king;He maintains his throne by faithfulness.
The glory of young men is their strength;The majesty of elders is their gray hair.
Bruises and wounds are repaymentgrepayment Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for evil,Striking at one’s inmost parts.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 10:1
“All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”