Proverbs 25:1-22 ▼

1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied down:

2 The glory of God is to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

3 The heavens for height and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings cannot be searched.

4 Remove the dross from the silver, and a vessel will come forth for the refiner.

5 Remove the wicked before the face of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

6 You should not exalt yourself before the face of the king, and in the place of the great ones you should not stand.

7 For better that he says to you “Come up here!” Than to set you low before a noble. That which your eyes have seen,

8 you should not go out to dispute hastily, for what will you do in the end when your neighbor has put you to shame?

9 Dispute your cause with your neighbor, and do not uncover the secret to another,

10 lest the one hearing it should bring shame to you, and your defamation shall not turn back.

11 Apples of gold in figures of silver, is a word spoken at its right time.

12 A ring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, is a wise one giving rebuke to a listening ear.

13 Like the cold of snow in time of harvest, is a faithful messenger to those sending him, and he restores the soul of his lords.

14 Clouds and wind and no rain, is a man boasting in gifts of deception.

15 With slowness of anger a ruler may be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16 You have found honey, eat your sufficiency, lest you be filled up with it and vomit it out.

17 Make rare your foot from the house of your neighbor, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

18 A club or a sharpened sword, or an arrow, is a man answering against his neighbor a testimony of falsehood.

19 A tooth broken or a foot tottering is trust in one acting treacherously in a day of distress.

20 One taking away a garment in a day of cold, or vinegar on soda, is one singing with songs to a heart of misery.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

22 For in so doing you will be heaping burning coals upon his head, and YHWH will give recompense to you.