Proverbs 25

Hezekiah’s Collection

¹These too are proverbs of Solomon,[#Pr 1:1]

which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter[#Dt 29:29; Rm 11:33]

and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

³As the heaven is high and the earth is deep,

so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

⁴Remove impurities from silver,[#Ezk 22:18; Mal 3:2-3]

and a vessel will be produced for a silversmith.

⁵Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,[#Pr 20:8,26]

and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Don’t brag about yourself before the king,

and don’t stand in the place of the great;

⁷for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here! ”

than to demote you in plain view of a noble.

⁸Don’t take a matter to court hastily.[#Pr 17:14; Mt 5:25; 1Co 6:7]

Otherwise, what will you do afterward

if your opponent humiliates you?

⁹Make your case with your opponent[#Or neighbor]

without revealing another’s secret;

¹⁰otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you,

and you’ll never live it down.

¹¹A word spoken at the right time

is like gold apples on a silver tray.

¹²A wise correction to a receptive ear[#Pr 15:31]

is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.

¹³To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger

is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;

he refreshes the life of his masters.

¹⁴The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist

is like clouds and wind without rain.

¹⁵A ruler can be persuaded through patience,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

¹⁶If you find honey, eat only what you need;[#Jdg 14:8; 1Sm 14:25]

otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.

¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house;

otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.

¹⁸A man giving false testimony against his neighbor[#Ex 20:16; Pr 24:28]

is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time

is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.

²⁰Singing songs to a troubled heart

is like taking off clothing on a cold day

or like pouring vinegar on soda.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²²for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

²³The north wind produces rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

²⁴Better to live on the corner of a roof

than to share a house with a nagging wife.

²⁵Good news from a distant land

is like cold water to a parched throat.

²⁶A righteous person who yields to the wicked[#Dt 13:6-8; Gl 2:4-5]

is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey[#Pr 25:16]

or to seek glory after glory.

²⁸A man who does not control his temper[#Pr 16:32; 29:11]

is like a city whose wall is broken down.