lan Warner
20/3 often refers to the book of Proverbs and 1 Samuel in the Bible. Below you can find versions for both verses as well as a breakdown.
Proverbs 20/3
New International Version
It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
New Living Translation
Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.
English Standard Version
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
New King James Version
It is honorable for a man to stop striving. Since any fool can start a quarrel.
King James Bible
It is an honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Breakdown of Proverbs 20/3
The verse is easy to understand but sometimes harder to follow. The call is to avoid senseless arguments and disagreement. Wisdom is knowing when a fight is not worth it. On the other hand, fools walk into every argument they can.
1 Samuel 20/3
New International Version
But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
New Living Translation
Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!”
English Standard Version
But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
New King James Version
Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
King James Bible
And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
Breakdown of 1 Samuel 20/3
David was letting Jonathan know that his father was trying to kill him in earlier verses. Jonathan refused to believe this because he felt like his dad told him everything. In 1 Samuel 20/3 David is telling Jonathan that his dad has hidden his plans from him because he knows that they are both friends. Then he reminds Jonathan that he is not far from being dead because of all of this.
