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. 20:20 ch. 30:11, 17; See Ex. 21:17
• 2. 20:20 See 2 Sam. 21:17; Job 18:5
• 3. 20:21 See ch. 13:11
• 4. 20:22 ch. 24:29; [ch. 17:13; Matt. 5:39; Rom. 12:17, 19; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9]
• 5. 20:22 Ps. 27:14
• 6. 20:23 ver. 10
• 7. 20:23 See ch. 11:1
• 8. 20:24 See ch. 16:9
• 9. 20:25 [Eccles. 5:4, 5]
• 10. 20:26 [Matt. 3:12]
• 11. 20:26 Isa. 28:27
• 12. 20:27 [1 Cor. 2:11]
• 13. 20:27 [Zeph. 1:12]
• 14. 20:27 ch. 18:8
• 15. 20:28 ch. 3:3
• 16. 20:28 See ch. 16:12
• 17. 20:29 ch. 16:31
• 18. 20:30 [Isa. 53:5]
• 19. 20:30 [See ver. 27 above]

Footnotes

• [a] 20:27 Hebrew 'breath'