Proverbs · 30 verses
Proverbs 20
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The buyer calls the merchandise “worthless” with all the solemnity of a disappointed connoisseur, then steps outside and gloats over the bargain.
The buyer, the gravel, and the threshing wheelvv. 1–30
Proverbs 20 moves briskly from drink that makes a mocker and a brawler, to the roar of a king, to the slacker discovering at harvest that sleep has not ploughed a field. The intentions of the heart are deep waters, though a man of understanding may draw them out; declarations of loving devotion are plentiful, while a trustworthy man is a rarer creature. A righteous man walks with integrity, and even a young man is known by what he does. The king on his throne judges with his eyes, but no one steps forward able to say, “I have kept my heart pure.”
The little marketplace scene is wonderfully compact: “Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats. Elsewhere dishonest gain begins sweetly enough, only to leave gravel in the mouth. Weights and measures appear twice, each time under suspicion, while gold and rubies are abundant and lips of knowledge are rare treasure. Security for a stranger involves a garment, rash vows become a trap, and a secret-teller is best avoided before the babbling gathers momentum.
The chapter ends among parents, inheritance, vengeance, human footsteps, kings, lamps, youth, age, lashes, wounds, and the inmost parts. A wise king separates the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them—a remarkably agricultural machine for royal judgment. The LORD’s lamp searches the spirit of a man; loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; the strength of the young and the splendor of gray hair each receive their own line. Then the lashes and wounds arrive, with their severe claim to scour evil and cleanse what lies within.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Prov 20:2The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
Prov 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
Prov 20:4The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
Prov 20:5The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
Prov 20:6Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?
Prov 20:7The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.
Prov 20:8A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
Prov 20:9Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?
Prov 20:10Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
Prov 20:11Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.
Prov 20:12Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.
Prov 20:13Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
Prov 20:14“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.
Prov 20:15There is an abundance of gold and rubies, but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.
Prov 20:16Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
Prov 20:17Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.
Prov 20:18Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
Prov 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
Prov 20:20Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
Prov 20:21An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.
Prov 20:22Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
Prov 20:23Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
Prov 20:24A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?
Prov 20:25It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.
Prov 20:26A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
Prov 20:27The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.
Prov 20:28Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.
Prov 20:29The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
Prov 20:30Lashes and wounds scour evil, and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 281 passages were voted onto 30 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 22Romans 12:17–19Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- 221 Thessalonians 5:15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- 22Proverbs 24:29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- 22Proverbs 17:13If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- 221 Peter 3:9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
- 22Deuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- 221 Peter 2:23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
- 22Matthew 5:39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
- 22Psalms 37:34Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
- 222 Samuel 16:12Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
- 22Lamentations 3:25–26The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- 22Isaiah 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- 271 Corinthians 2:11For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
- 24Proverbs 16:9A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- 24Jeremiah 10:23I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
- 27Hebrews 4:12–13For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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