Proverbs Chapter 20 to 21 : Easy-to-Read Version  | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

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20 Wine and beer make people lose control of themselves. They get loud and start to brag. They become drunk and do foolish things. 2The anger of a king is like the roar of a lion. If you make the king angry, then you could lose your life. 3Any fool can start an argument. So you should respect a person who refuses to argue. 4A lazy person is too lazy to plant seeds. So, at the time of harvest he looks for food and finds nothing. 5Good advice is like getting water from a deep well. But a wise person will try hard to learn from another person. 6Many people call a person ”friend.” But it is really hard to find a person that can really be trusted. 7A good person lives a good life. And his children will be blessed. 8When the king sits and judges people, he must look carefully to separate the evil {from the good}. 9Can any person really say that he has always done his best? Can any person really say that he has no sin? {No!} 10The Lord hates people that cheat other people using weights and measures that are not fair. 11Even a child shows that he is good or bad by the things he does. You can watch that child and know if he is honest and good. 12The Lord gave us eyes to see with and ears to hear with—{use them}! 13If you love to sleep, then you will become poor. But use your time working and you will have plenty to eat. 14The person who buys something from you always says, “It’s no good! It costs too much!” Then that person goes away and tells other people that he made a good deal. 15Gold and jewels can make a man rich. But a person who knows what he is talking about is worth much, much more. 16You will lose your shirt if you make yourself responsible for another man’s debts. 17If you get something by cheating, it may seem like a good thing. But in the end it will be worth nothing. 18Get good advice before you make plans. If you are starting a war, find good people to guide you. 19A person who tells gossip about other people can’t be trusted. So don’t be friends with a person who talks too much. 20If a person curses* his father or mother, then he is like a person whose light stops shinning in the darkest darkness. 21If your wealth was very easy to get, it will not be worth much to you. 22If someone does something against you, don’t try to punish him yourself. Wait for the Lord! In the end, he will make you the winner. 23Some people use weights and scales that are not accurate. They use those things so they can cheat people. The Lord hates that. That does not make him happy! 24The Lord decides what happens to every person. So how can any person understand what happens in his life? 25Think carefully before you promise to give something to God. Later you might wish that you had not made that promise. 26A wise king will decide which people are evil. And that king will punish those people. 27A person's spirit is like a lamp to the Lord. The Lord is able to see into the deepest parts of a person.* 28If a king is loyal and true, then he will keep his power. His true love will keep his kingdom strong. 29We admire a young man for his strength. But we respect an old man for his gray hair—{it shows he lived a full life}. 30If we are punished, we will stop doing wrong. Pain can change a person.

curse To ask for bad things to happen to someone. A person's spirit ... person Or, “The Lord examines a person's breath (spirit) and searches his deepest thoughts.”  


21 {Farmers dig small ditches to water their fields. They change where the water goes by closing different ditches.} The Lord controls a king’s mind just like that. The Lord can lead the king wherever he wants him to go. 2A person thinks everything he does is right. But the Lord judges the real reasons people do things. 3Do the things that are right and fair. The Lord loves that better than sacrifices. 4Proud looks and proud thoughts are sins. They show a person is evil. 5Careful plans can lead to profit. But if you are not careful, and you do things too quickly, then you will become poor. 6If you cheat to become rich, then your wealth will soon be gone. And your riches will lead you to death. 7The bad things that evil people do will destroy them. Those people refuse to do what is right. 8Bad people always try to cheat other people. But good people are honest and fair. 9It is better to live in a small corner of the attic* than to share the house with a woman that is always arguing. 10Evil people always want to do more evil. And those people show no mercy to people around them. 11Punish the person who makes fun of God and foolish people will learn a lesson. They will become wise. And then they will gain more and more knowledge. 12God is good. God knows what evil people are doing, and he will punish them. 13If a person refuses to help poor people, then there will be no help for him when he needs it. 14If a person is angry with you, give him a gift in secret. A gift that is given in secret can stop great anger. 15Fair judgment makes good people happy. But it makes evil people very afraid. 16If a person leaves the way of wisdom, then he is going toward destruction. 17If having fun is the most important thing to a person, then that person will become poor. If that person loves wine and food, then he will never be rich. 18Evil people have to pay for all the bad things they do to good people. People who are not honest have to pay for the things they do to honest people. 19It is better to live in the desert than to live with a wife that has a short temper and loves to argue. 20A wise person saves the things he needs. But a foolish person uses everything as fast as he gets it. 21The person that always tries to show love and kindness will have a good life, wealth, and honor. 22A wise person can do almost anything. He can attack a city defended by strong men. And he can destroy the walls that they trusted to save them. 23If a person is careful about the things he says, then he saves himself from trouble. 24A proud person thinks he is better than other people. He shows that he is evil by the things he does. 25–26A lazy person destroys himself when he wants more and more. He destroys himself because he refuses to work for those things. But a good person can give because he has plenty. 27The Lord is not happy when evil people offer him sacrifices, especially when those evil people are trying to get something from him. 28A person who tells lies will be destroyed. Any person who listens to those lies will be destroyed with him. 29A good person always knows that he is right. But an evil person has to pretend. 30There is no person who is wise enough to make a plan that can succeed if the Lord is against it. 31People can prepare everything for a battle, even the horses. But they can’t win unless the Lord gives them the victory.

attic A small room above the main rooms of a house. Literally, “roof.” The roofs of houses in ancient Israel were flat and were often used as extra rooms.

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