Proverbs 20

1 Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

2 The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion. He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

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 man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

6 Many men claim to be men of unfailing love, but who can find a faithful man?

7 A righteous man walks in integrity. Blessed are his children after him.

8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.

9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure. I am clean and without sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

11 Even a child makes himself known by his doings, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.

12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD has made even both of them.

13 Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty. Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.

14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.

15 There is gold and abundance of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.

16 Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.

17 Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.

18 Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!

19 He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.

20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning won’t be blessed in the end.

22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for the LORD, and he will save you.

23 The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales are not pleasing.

24 A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

25 It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.

26 A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.

27 The spirit of man is the LORD’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts.

28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe. His throne is sustained by love.

29 The glory of young men is their strength. The splendor of old men is their gray hair.

30 Wounding blows cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the innermost parts.

Around Proverbs 20

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Proverbs as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

Two voices call from the high places of a city, and both want the same passers-by. “Wisdom has built her house”, the ninth chapter says. She has set her table and sent out her maidens, and she calls the simple to leave their simple ways. Across the street, a loud and undisciplined woman, Folly, sits at her door and calls the very same crowd.

That picture captures the whole book. Proverbs gathers short sayings and longer poems about living wisely. Its starting point is that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” It contrasts the wise and the foolish in speech, work, money, friendship, marriage and the raising of children.

In the opening chapters wisdom is pictured as a woman calling out in the streets. The book ends with a poem in praise of a capable wife.

Background

Most of the sayings are linked with Solomon. Others are credited to Agur, to King Lemuel and to unnamed wise teachers, and one section was copied by officials of King Hezekiah about two centuries after Solomon (25:1). Similar collections of wisdom are known from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

How Christians read it

A proverb states what is generally true, not a guarantee for every case. Reading the sayings as promises leads to disappointment, and the books of Job and Ecclesiastes show the exceptions. The New Testament speaks of Christ as the wisdom of God, and many Christians read the figure of wisdom in chapter 8 in that light.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes