Proverbs 20

1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
1 Luxuriosa res vinum, et tumultuosa ebrietas:
quicumque his delectatur non erit sapiens.
2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
2 Sicut rugitus leonis, ita et terror regis:
qui provocat eum peccat in animam suam.
3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
3 Honor est homini qui separat se a contentionibus;
omnes autem stulti miscentur contumeliis.
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
4 Propter frigus piger arare noluit;
mendicabit ergo æstate, et non dabitur illi.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
5 Sicut aqua profunda, sic consilium in corde viri;
sed homo sapiens exhauriet illud.
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
6 Multi homines misericordes vocantur;
virum autem fidelem quis inveniet?
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
7 Justus qui ambulat in simplicitate sua
beatos post se filios derelinquet.
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
8 Rex qui sedet in solio judicii
dissipat omne malum intuitu suo.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
9 Quis potest dicere: Mundum est cor meum;
purus sum a peccato?
10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.
10 Pondus et pondus, mensura et mensura:
utrumque abominabile est apud Deum.
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
11 Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer,
si munda et recta sint opera ejus.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.
12 Aurem audientem, et oculum videntem:
Dominus fecit utrumque.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
13 Noli diligere somnum, ne te egestas opprimat:
aperi oculos tuos, et saturare panibus.
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
14 Malum est, malum est, dicit omnis emptor;
et cum recesserit, tunc gloriabitur.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
15 Est aurum et multitudo gemmarum,
et vas pretiosum labia scientiæ.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
16 Tolle vestimentum ejus qui fidejussor extitit alieni,
et pro extraneis aufer pignus ab eo.
17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
17 Suavis est homini panis mendacii,
et postea implebitur os ejus calculo.
18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
18 Cogitationes consiliis roborantur,
et gubernaculis tractanda sunt bella.
19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
19 Ei qui revelat mysteria, et ambulat fraudulenter,
et dilatat labia sua, ne commiscearis.
20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
20 Qui maledicit patri suo et matri,
extinguetur lucerna ejus in mediis tenebris:
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
21 hæreditas ad quam festinatur in principio,
in novissimo benedictione carebit.
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
22 Ne dicas: Reddam malum:
exspecta Dominum, et liberabit te.
23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.
23 Abominatio est apud Dominum pondus et pondus;
statera dolosa non est bona.
24 Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?
24 A Domino diriguntur gressus viri:
quis autem hominum intelligere potest viam suam?
25 It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
25 Ruina est homini devorare sanctos,
et post vota retractare.
26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
26 Dissipat impios rex sapiens,
et incurvat super eos fornicem.
27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
27 Lucerna Domini spiraculum hominis,
quæ investigat omnia secreta ventris.
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
28 Misericordia et veritas custodiunt regem,
et roboratur clementia thronus ejus.
29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
29 Exsultatio juvenum fortitudo eorum,
et dignitas senum canities.
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
30 Livor vulneris absterget mala,
et plagæ in secretioribus ventris.
Proverbs 19
Proverbs 21
About the Latin Text

The Latin text displayed here is that of the Clementine Vulgate, as digitized by the Clementine Text Project.