Proverbs 25:1-28
25 These too are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiahof Judah compiled:
2 It is God’s glory to keep a matter veiled;it is kings’ glory to investigate a matter.
3 Sky for height and earth for depthand man’s heart inscrutable.
4 * Dislodge dross from silverand have a piece of ware come out for the silversmith;
5 Dislodge a rascal before a kingand have his throne stand firm in right.
6 Do not put on airs before a kingnor stand in the place for great men,
7 * Because it is better to have him say to you “Come up here”than to have him put you down before a nobleman.
8 * Do not hurry to pass out by wholesalewhat your eyes have seen,Because what will you do in the sequelwhen somebody humiliates you?
9 Fight your case against your opponent,but do not betray another man’s secret,
10 * For fear one who hears should brand you with disgraceand you should never get your reputation back.
11 ** A word spoken to the pointis golden apples in silver artwork.
12 A wise admonisher to a listening earis a gold earring and a nugget-gold pendant.
13 Like the coolness of snow in midsummer heatis a trusty courier to those who send him,and he puts life back into his master.
14 A man who brags of a fictitious giftis scud and wind and no shower.
15 By patience a chieftain is cajoled;and a soft tongue breaks bones.
16 If you find honey, eat what is enough for you,for fear you should be glutted and throw it up.
17 Make your foot a rarity in your neighbor’s housefor fear he should have enough of you and come to hate you.
18 A man who testifies falsely against anotheris a mace and a sword and a barbed arrow.
19 One who is treacherous in a pinchis a bad tooth and a shaky foot.
20 ** Vinegar on sodaand a singer of songs to a heavy heart.Like a moth in a cloak and like rot of wood,so grief eats away a man’s mind.
21 * If your enemy is hungry feed him,and if he is thirsty give him a drink,
22 Because you will be shoveling live coals on his head,and Jehovah will repay you.
23 ** A north wind scares away a shower,and hostile faces an underhand tongue.
24 Better living on the corner of a roofthan a home shared with a quarrelsome woman.
25 * Cold water on a palate exhausted with thirstand good news from a distant country.
26 * An honest man compromising with a rogueis a water-hole trampled up and a spring spoiled.
27 * Eating honey in quantity is not a good thing,and making grandeur a rarity is better than grandeur.
28 A man whose spirit does not have a controlis a broken city that does not have a wall.
Footnotes
^ 25:4 Or turn out well for
^ 25:7-8 Var.* a nobleman whom your eyes have seen. Do not hurry to go into a lawsuit, because what will you do in the sequel when the other man
^ 25:8 Lit. Lest what
^ 25:10 Lit. your disrepute should not turn back
^ 25:11 Unc.
^ 25:11 Conj. on silver twigs
^ 25:20 Var. Vinegar on a sore
^ 25:20 (second proverb) Var. omits this
^ 25:21 Var. give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty give him water to drink
^ 25:23 The words might naturally seem to mean brings forth rain; but the fact is that the north wind in Palestine always brings clear weather; and the order of the Hebrew words, comparing the two halves of the proverb, seems to make face the subject and tongue the object in the second half
^ 25:23 Or a hostile face
^ 25:25 Conj. Good news from a distant country is cold water on a palate exhausted with thirst
^ 25:26 Lit. wavering before a rogue
^ 25:27 Codd. and investigating (var. making a rarity of) their grandeur is grandeur
