Proverbs 20:11-21

11 Even a child ¹makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.^[a]

12 ²The hearing ear and the seeing eye, ³the LORD has made them both.

13 ⁴Love not sleep, lest you ⁵come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have ⁶plenty of bread.

14 "Bad, bad," says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts.

15 There is gold and abundance of ⁷costly stones, ⁸but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

16 ⁹Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and ¹⁰hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.^[b]

17 ¹¹Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of ¹²gravel.

18 ¹³Plans are established by counsel; by ¹⁴wise guidance ¹⁵wage war.

19 Whoever ¹⁶goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with ¹⁷a simple babbler.^[c]

20 ¹⁸If one curses his father or his mother, ¹⁹his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

21 ²⁰An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

Cross References

• 1. [Matthew 7:16]
• 2. Proverbs 15:31; Proverbs 25:12
• 3. Exodus 4:11; Psalms 94:9
• 4. [Proverbs 6:4; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 31:15; Romans 12:11]
• 5. [ver. 4]
• 6. Proverbs 12:11
• 7. Job 28:18
• 8. [Proverbs 3:14, 15]
• 9. Proverbs 27:13; [Proverbs 6:1; Proverbs 22:26]
• 10. See Job 22:6
• 11. [Proverbs 9:17]
• 12. [Lamentations 3:16]
• 13. [Proverbs 11:14; Proverbs 15:22]
• 14. Proverbs 24:6
• 15. Luke 14:31
• 16. Proverbs 11:13
• 17. Proverbs 13:3; [Romans 16:18]
• 18. Proverbs 30:11, 17; See Exodus 21:17
• 19. See 2 Samuel 21:17; Job 18:5
• 20. See Proverbs 13:11

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Even a child can dissemble in his actions, though his conduct seems pure and upright
• [b]. Or for an adulteress (compare 27:13)
• [c]. Hebrew with one who is simple in his lips