¹Solomon’s proverbs, published by the scribes of King Hezekiah:

²God conceals the revelation of his word[#25:2 Many translate this “a matter,” whereas the Hebrew is dabar , which is translated more than eight hundred times in the Old Testament as “word.”]

in the hiding place of his glory.

But the honor of kings is revealed

by how they thoroughly search out

the deeper meaning of all that God says.

³The heart of a king is full of understanding,

like the heavens are high and the ocean is deep.

⁴If you burn away the impurities from silver,

a sterling vessel will emerge from the fire.

⁵And if you purge corruption from the kingdom,

a king’s reign will be established in righteousness.

⁶Don’t boast in the presence of a king

or promote yourself by taking a seat at the head table

and pretending that you’re someone important.

⁷For it is better for the king to say to you,

“Come, you should sit at the head table,”

than for him to say in front of everyone,

“Please get up and move—

you’re sitting in the place of the prince.”

⁸Don’t be hasty to file a lawsuit.

By starting something you wish you hadn’t,

you could be humiliated when you lose your case.

⁹Don’t reveal another person’s secret

just to prove a point in an argument,

or you could be accused of being a gossip

¹⁰and gain a reputation for being one

who betrays the confidence of a friend.

¹¹Winsome words spoken at just the right time

are as appealing as apples gilded in gold

surrounded with silver.

¹²When you humbly receive wise correction,

it adorns your life with beauty

and makes you a better person.

¹³A reliable, trustworthy messenger

refreshes the heart of his master,

like a gentle snowfall at harvest time.

¹⁴Clouds that carry no water

and a wind that brings no refreshing rain —

that’s what you’re like when you boast

of a gift that you don’t have.

Wisdom Practices Self-Control

¹⁵Use patience and kindness when you want to persuade leaders

and watch them change their minds right in front of you.

For your gentle wisdom will quell the strongest resistance.

¹⁶When you discover something sweet,

don’t overindulge and eat more than you need,

for excess in anything can make you sick of even a good thing.

¹⁷Don’t wear out your welcome

by staying too long at the home of your friends,

or they may get fed up with always having you there

and wish you hadn’t come.

¹⁸Lying about and slandering people

are as bad as hitting them with a club,

or wounding them with an arrow,

or stabbing them with a sword.

¹⁹You can’t depend on an unreliable person

when you really need help.

It can be compared to biting down on an abscessed tooth

or walking with a sprained ankle.

²⁰When you sing a song of joy to someone suffering

in the deepest grief and heartache,

it can be compared to disrobing in the middle of a blizzard

or rubbing salt in a wound.

²¹Is your enemy hungry? Buy him lunch.[#25:21 Or “Is he thirsty? Give him a drink.”]

Win him over with your kindness.

²²Your surprising generosity will awaken his conscience[#25:22 Or “You will heap coals of fire on his head.” His heart will be moved and his shame exposed.]

and God will reward you with favor.

²³As the north wind brings a storm,

saying things you shouldn’t brings a storm to any relationship.

²⁴It’s better to live all alone in a rundown shack

than to share a castle with a crabby spouse!

²⁵Like a drink of cool water refreshes a weary, thirsty soul,

so hearing good news revives the spirit.

²⁶When a lover of God gives in and compromises with wickedness,

it can be compared to contaminating a stream with sewage

or polluting a fountain.

²⁷It’s good to eat sweet things,

but you can take too much.

It’s good to be honored,

but to seek words of praise is not honor at all.

²⁸If you live without restraint

and are unable to control your temper,

you’re as helpless as a city with broken-down defenses,

open to attack.