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Text -- Proverbs 20:6-30 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
20:6 Many people profess their loyalty , but a faithful person – who can find ?
20:7 The righteous person behaves in integrity ; blessed are his children after him.
20:8 A king sitting on the throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes .
20:9 Who can say , “I have kept my heart clean ; I am pure from my sin ”?
20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures – the Lord abhors both of them.
20:11 Even a young man is known by his actions , whether his activity is pure and whether it is right .
20:12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees – the Lord has made them both .
20:13 Do not love sleep , lest you become impoverished ; open your eyes so that you might be satisfied with food .
20:14 “It’s worthless ! It’s worthless !” says the buyer , but when he goes on his way , he boasts .
20:15 There is gold , and an abundance of rubies , but words of knowledge are like a precious jewel .
20:16 Take a man’s garment when he has given security for a stranger , and when he gives surety for strangers , hold him in pledge .
20:17 Bread gained by deceit tastes sweet to a person , but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel .
20:18 Plans are established by counsel , so make war with guidance .
20:19 The one who goes about gossiping reveals secrets ; therefore do not associate with someone who is always opening his mouth .
20:20 The one who curses his father and his mother , his lamp will be extinguished in the blackest darkness .
20:21 An inheritance gained easily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end .
20:22 Do not say , “I will pay back evil !” Wait for the Lord , so that he may vindicate you.
20:23 The Lord abhors differing weights , and dishonest scales are wicked .
20:24 The steps of a person are ordained by the Lord – so how can anyone understand his own way ?
20:25 It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy !” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed .
20:26 A wise king separates out the wicked ; he turns the threshing wheel over them.
20:27 The human spirit is like the lamp of the Lord , searching all his innermost parts .
20:28 Loyal love and truth preserve a king , and his throne is upheld by loyal love .
20:29 The glory of young men is their strength , and the splendor of old men is gray hair .
20:30 Beatings and wounds cleanse away evil , and floggings cleanse the innermost being .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Pro 20:6; Pro 20:6; Pro 20:6; Pro 20:7; Pro 20:7; Pro 20:7; Pro 20:8; Pro 20:8; Pro 20:8; Pro 20:9; Pro 20:9; Pro 20:9; Pro 20:10; Pro 20:10; Pro 20:10; Pro 20:11; Pro 20:11; Pro 20:11; Pro 20:12; Pro 20:12; Pro 20:13; Pro 20:13; Pro 20:13; Pro 20:14; Pro 20:14; Pro 20:14; Pro 20:15; Pro 20:15; Pro 20:15; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:16; Pro 20:17; Pro 20:17; Pro 20:17; Pro 20:18; Pro 20:18; Pro 20:18; Pro 20:19; Pro 20:19; Pro 20:19; Pro 20:20; Pro 20:20; Pro 20:20; Pro 20:20; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:22; Pro 20:22; Pro 20:22; Pro 20:22; Pro 20:23; Pro 20:23; Pro 20:24; Pro 20:24; Pro 20:24; Pro 20:24; Pro 20:24; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:25; Pro 20:26; Pro 20:26; Pro 20:27; Pro 20:27; Pro 20:27; Pro 20:27; Pro 20:28; Pro 20:28; Pro 20:29; Pro 20:29; Pro 20:29; Pro 20:30; Pro 20:30; Pro 20:30
NET Notes: Pro 20:6 The point of the rhetorical question is that a truly faithful friend is very difficult to find.
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NET Notes: Pro 20:7 The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:8 The phrase with his eyes indicates that the king will closely examine or look into all the cases that come before him.
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NET Notes: Pro 20:9 The Hebrew verb translated “I am pure” (טָהֵר, taher) is a Levitical term. To claim this purity would be to ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:10 Behind this proverb is the image of the dishonest merchant who has different sets of weights and measures which are used to cheat customers. The Lord ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:11 Character is demonstrated by actions at any age. But the emphasis of the book of Proverbs would also be that if the young child begins to show such ac...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:12 The verse not only credits God with making these faculties of hearing and sight and giving them to people, but it also emphasizes their spiritual use ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:13 Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.
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NET Notes: Pro 20:14 The Hitpael imperfect of הָלַל (halal) means “to praise” – to talk in glowing terms, excitedly. In thi...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:15 The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:17 The image of food and eating is carried throughout the proverb. Food taken by fraud seems sweet at first, but afterward it is not. To end up with a mo...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:18 There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinatio...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:22 After the imperative, the jussive is subordinated in a purpose or result clause: “wait for the Lord so that he may deliver you.” The verb ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:23 Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:24 Heb “his way.” The referent of the third masculine singular pronoun is unclear, so the word “own” was supplied in the translat...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:26 The king has the wisdom/ability to destroy evil from his kingdom. See also D. W. Thomas, “Proverbs 20:26,” JTS 15 (1964): 155-56.
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NET Notes: Pro 20:27 Heb “all the chambers of the belly.” This means “the inner parts of the body” (BDB 293 s.v. חֶדֶר...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:28 The emphasis is on the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:11-16; Ps 89:19-37). It is the Lord and his faithful love for his covenant that ultimately makes the ...
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NET Notes: Pro 20:29 “Grey hair” is a metonymy of adjunct; it represents everything valuable about old age – dignity, wisdom, honor, experience, as well ...
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