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 25,19 Spr 25,19
And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came {Or, against}unto him, and distressed him, but {Or, prevailed not against him}strengthened him not.
For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of Jehovah, and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but it helped him not.
To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend; {Or, Else might he forsake Or, But he forsaketh}Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,As the channel of brooks that pass away;
Which are black by reason of the ice,And wherein the snow hideth itself:
What time they {Or, shrink}wax warm, they vanish;When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
{Or, The paths of their way are turned aside}The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside;They go up into the waste, and perish.
The caravans of Tema looked,The companies of Sheba waited for them.
They were put to shame because they had hoped;They came thither, and were confounded.
Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that {Or, pour out a drink-offering}make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin,
that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to {Or, flee to the stronghold of Pharaoh}strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
When they took hold of thee {Or, by the handle Another reading is, with the hand.}by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to {Or, as some read, shake See Psalm 69:23.}be at a stand.
At my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me: may it not be laid to their account.