Proverbs
25 These too are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah
of Judah compiled:
2 It is God’s glory to keep a matter veiled;
it is kings’ glory to investigate a matter.
3 Sky for height and earth for depth
and man’s heart inscrutable.
5 Dislodge a rascal before a king
and have his throne stand firm in right.
6 Do not put on airs before a king
nor stand in the place for great men,
7* Because it is better to have him say to you “Come up here”
than to have him put you down before a nobleman.
8* Do not hurry to pass out by wholesale
what your eyes have seen,
Because what will you do in the sequel
when somebody humiliates you?
9 Fight your case against your opponent,
but do not betray another man’s secret,
10* For fear one who hears should brand you with disgrace
and you should never get your reputation back.
12 A wise admonisher to a listening ear
is a gold earring and a nugget-gold pendant.
13 Like the coolness of snow in midsummer heat
is a trusty courier to those who send him,
and he puts life back into his master.
14 A man who brags of a fictitious gift
is scud and wind and no shower.
15 By patience a chieftain is cajoled;
and a soft tongue breaks bones.
16 If you find honey, eat what is enough for you,
for fear you should be glutted and throw it up.
17 Make your foot a rarity in your neighbor’s house
for fear he should have enough of you and come to hate you.
18 A man who testifies falsely against another
is a mace and a sword and a barbed arrow.
19 One who is treacherous in a pinch
is a bad tooth and a shaky foot.
and a singer of songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in a cloak and like rot of wood,
so grief eats away a man’s mind.
22 Because you will be shoveling live coals on his head,
and Jehovah will repay you.
24 Better living on the corner of a roof
than a home shared with a quarrelsome woman.
27* Eating honey in quantity is not a good thing,
and making grandeur a rarity is better than grandeur.
28 A man whose spirit does not have a control
is a broken city that does not have a wall.