Proverbs 25

The TorahRooted Bible (TRB), translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek.

More proverbs of Solomon

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

² It is the glory of Elohim to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. ³ As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. ⁴ Take away the dross from the silver, and a vessel comes out for the refiner; ⁵ take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established by righteousness.

⁶ Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of the great; ⁷ for it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," than that you be put lower in the presence of a noble whom your eyes have seen. ⁸ Do not go out hastily to court; for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹ Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another man's secret, ¹⁰ lest he who hears it put you to shame, and your bad name never leave you.

¹¹ Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time. ¹² Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. ¹³ Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful envoy to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his master. ¹⁴ Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. ¹⁵ Through patience a ruler is persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks a bone. ¹⁶ Have you found honey? Eat only what is enough for you, lest you be filled with it and vomit it. ¹⁷ Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

¹⁸ Like a war club, a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. ¹⁹ Like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint is confidence in a treacherous man in the day of trouble. ²⁰ Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, like vinegar on soda, is he who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; ²² for you will heap burning coals on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.

²³ The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. ²⁴ It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. ²⁵ Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a far country. ²⁶ Like a muddied spring and a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. ²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one's own glory. ²⁸ Like a city broken into and left without walls is a man who has no rule over his spirit.

Notes

• 25:1 A new collection begins here and runs through chapter 29 (see the note at 1:1). "Copied" is he'tiqu, literally "moved" or "transferred": men of Hezekiah's court took sayings of Solomon from older sources and set them down in a new collection, more than two centuries after Solomon's day. The work fits the king: Hezekiah restored the worship of the house of Yahweh and had the Levites sing praises "with the words of David and of Asaph the seer" (2 Chronicles 29:30), and of him it is written, "He trusted in Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel" (2 Kings 18:5). Later Jewish tradition (the Talmud, Bava Batra 15a) goes further and credits "Hezekiah and his company" with writing down Isaiah, Proverbs, the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.
• 25:7 Yeshua tells a parable on the same lines: a guest at a wedding feast should take the lowest place, so that the host may come and invite him to go up higher, for whoever exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:8-11). The last words, "whom your eyes have seen," are hard to place: the Hebrew verse division keeps them here, but the Greek translation and some modern versions join them to verse 8 ("What your eyes have seen, do not bring hastily to court").
• 25:21 "Your enemy" is literally "the one who hates you." The Torah had already taught kindness toward such a man: "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him" (Exodus 23:4). Elisha acted on the same spirit when he set bread and water before the Aramean raiders instead of striking them (2 Kings 6:22).
• 25:22 Paul quotes verse 21 and the first line of verse 22 in their Greek form (Romans 12:20), right after forbidding revenge, and adds that evil is to be overcome with good. What "burning coals on his head" means is debated. Many readers, ancient and modern, understand the burning shame of receiving kindness from the one you wronged, a shame that may lead the enemy to repent; some scholars compare an Egyptian story in which a man shows repentance by carrying a dish of burning coals on his head. Others read it as heaping judgment on him, but the setting, and the promise that Yahweh will reward the one who does good, point toward kindness, not revenge. The Greek translation ends "and the Lord will reward you with good."
• 25:27 The second line is very compressed in Hebrew, literally "and the searching out of their glory is glory." Many take the "not" of the first line as carrying over, as here: seeking honor for oneself is like eating too much honey (verse 16). Others read it differently or change a letter of the Hebrew. Either way, the words "glory" and "search out" take up verse 2, and the two verses frame the section.

Proverbs 24 · Proverbs 26

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