Proverbs · chapter 20 of 31
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Proverbs 20 gathers sayings about wine that deceives, laziness, honest weights and measures, prudence in plans and trusting the Lord instead of taking revenge. It asks who can say he has made his heart pure, says the Lord directs a person's steps, and calls the human spirit the lamp of the Lord that searches the innermost parts.
Proverbs 20 is another chapter of Solomon's collection, this time with a lot of practical material on life in society: the use of wine, work, trade, vows, the king's justice and the relationship with parents. Above all it reminds us that, behind appearances, God looks at the heart.
The chapter begins with a warning: wine is a mocker and strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise (v. 1). Whoever provokes a king to anger forfeits his life, while keeping away from strife is an honor to a man (vv. 2-3). The sluggard does not plow in the autumn, so at harvest he looks and finds nothing (v. 4). The purposes of the heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out (v. 5), and a truly faithful person is hard to find (v. 6). The righteous walks in his integrity, and his children are blessed after him (v. 7).
The question of verse 9 is central: who can say, I have made my heart pure, I am clean from my sin? False weights and unequal measures are an abomination to the Lord (vv. 10, 23). Even a child is known by his deeds (v. 11), and the hearing ear and the seeing eye are both made by the Lord (v. 12). Loving sleep leads to poverty (v. 13), and the buyer says it is worth nothing, then boasts about it (v. 14). Lips that know are a precious jewel (v. 15). One should not associate with a gossip (v. 19).
The final part teaches not to take revenge: do not say, I will repay evil, but wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you (v. 22). A person's steps are directed by the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way? (v. 24). It is a snare to make a rash vow and only afterward to reflect (v. 25). The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray hair (v. 29). The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching his innermost parts (v. 27), and blows that wound cleanse away evil (v. 30).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
No one can say he has made his heart pure and is clean from sin. The question admits the human need for forgiveness and prepares the way for understanding why the Bible speaks of God's grace.
Do not say you will repay evil with evil. Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. The proverb rejects personal revenge and teaches us to leave justice in God's hands, something the New Testament repeats clearly.
The Lord directs a person's steps, and no one can fully understand his own way. It is an invitation to humility and to trust God's providence even when we cannot see the sense in what we are living through.
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. God knows what is hidden, and the human conscience, lit by him, cannot hide from his light.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Wine is a mocker and strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise. — Proverbs 20:1
Answer: Because he does not plow in the autumn, so at harvest he looks and finds nothing. — Proverbs 20:4
Answer: Who can say he has made his heart pure and is clean from his sin. — Proverbs 20:9
Answer: False weights and unequal measures. — Proverbs 20:10
Answer: Wait for the Lord, who will deliver. — Proverbs 20:22
Answer: The lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts. — Proverbs 20:27
Proverbs 20 asks for honesty in small things: in what we sell, what we promise and what we say. In a small group you can ask where we are tempted to use two sets of weights, that is, to be strict with others and flexible with ourselves.
Verse 22 challenges us to give up revenge. This week the task is to hand over to God an offense we would love to repay. And verse 9 reminds us of humility: none of us can boast of a pure heart, and that is why we all need the grace of Christ.
Proverbs 20 joins everyday honesty with trust that God guides and knows the heart. Chapter 21 continues with the king's heart in the Lord's hand, justice preferred to sacrifice and the victory that belongs to God.
It is a rhetorical question whose answer is that no one can. The text affirms that everyone needs forgiveness. Christians see here an anticipation of the work of Christ, who cleanses the believer from sin, as the New Testament teaches.
The verse warns against the deceptive effect of wine when it is drunk without control, since whoever is led astray by it is not wise. The Bible condemns drunkenness in many passages; on total abstinence Christians hold different convictions, and the text does not command it explicitly.