These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing;
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Take away the dross from the silver,
And there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner:
Take away the wicked from before the king,
And his throne shall be established in righteousness.
{Hebrew: Glorify not thyself.}Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king,
And stand not in the place of great men:
For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither,
Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince,
Whom thine eyes have seen.
Go not forth hastily to strive,
{Or, Lest it be said in the end thereof, What will thou do? When &c.}Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof,
When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself,
{Or, But}And disclose not the secret of another;
Lest he that heareth it revile thee,
And thine infamy turn not away.
A word {Or, in due season}fitly spoken
Is like apples of gold in network of silver.
As {Or, a nose-ring}an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold,
So is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,
So is a faithful messenger to them that send him;
For he refresheth the soul of his masters.
As clouds and wind without rain,
So is he that boasteth himself {Hebrew: in a gift of falsehood.}of his gifts falsely.
By long forbearing is a {Or, judge}ruler persuaded,
And a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee,
Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbor's house,
Lest he be {Hebrew: full of thee.}weary of thee, and hate thee.
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor
Is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble
Is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
As one that taketh off a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon soda,
So is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.
If {Hebrew: he that hateth thee}thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;
And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head,
And Jehovah will reward thee.
The north wind bringeth forth rain:
So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.
As cold waters to a {Or, weary}thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far country.
As a {Hebrew: trampled.}troubled fountain, and a corrupted spring,
So is a righteous man that {Or, is moved }giveth way before the wicked.
It is not good to eat much honey:
{Or, But for men to search out their own glory is glory The Hebrew text is obscure.}So for men to search out their own glory is grievous.
{Or, He that hath no rule over his spirit}He whose spirit is without restraint
Is like a city that is broken down and without walls.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 25,14 Spr 25,14
Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness;But a faithful man who can find?
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed.
For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publican.
I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.
But the {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, {Or, be thou propitiated}be thou merciful to me {Or, the sinner}a sinner.
I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light.
It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
I say again, Let no man think me foolish; but if ye do, yet as foolish receive me, that I also may glory a little.
That which I speak, I speak not after the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of glorying.
Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
{Or, God and the Father See Romans 15:6.}The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed {Greek: unto the ages.}for evermore knoweth that I lie not.
forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of {Many ancient authorities read Bosor.}Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;
but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet.
These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved.
For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error;
promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of {Or, what}whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.
These are they who are {Or, spots}hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own {Greek: shames.}shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.