Proverbs 20:20-30

20 ¹If one curses his father or his mother, ²his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

21 ³An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

22 Do not say, ⁴"I will repay evil"; ⁵wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

23 ⁶Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and ⁷false scales are not good.

24 A man's ⁸steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

25 It is a snare to say rashly, "It is holy," and to reflect only ⁹after making vows.

26 A wise king ¹⁰winnows the wicked and drives ¹¹the wheel over them.

27 ¹²The spirit^[a] of man is the lamp of the LORD, ¹³searching all ¹⁴his innermost parts.

28 ¹⁵Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his ¹⁶throne is upheld.

29 The glory of young men is their strength, but ¹⁷the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

30 ¹⁸Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean ¹⁹the innermost parts.

Cross References

• 1. Proverbs 30:11, 17; See Exodus 21:17
• 2. See 2 Samuel 21:17; Job 18:5
• 3. See Proverbs 13:11
• 4. Proverbs 24:29; [Proverbs 17:13; Matthew 5:39; Romans 12:17, 19; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9]
• 5. Psalms 27:14
• 6. ver. 10
• 7. See Proverbs 11:1
• 8. See Proverbs 16:9
• 9. [Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5]
• 10. [Matthew 3:12]
• 11. Isaiah 28:27
• 12. [1 Corinthians 2:11]
• 13. [Zephaniah 1:12]
• 14. Proverbs 18:8
• 15. Proverbs 3:3
• 16. See Proverbs 16:12
• 17. Proverbs 16:31
• 18. [Isaiah 53:5]
• 19. [See ver. 27 above]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew breath