Proverbs 25
1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, collected.
Here are more wise sayings/words that Solomon [wrote]. Some men who worked for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied them [from a scroll that Solomon had written].
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But it is the glory of kings to search out a matter.
[We consider] God to be great because he (acts in mysterious ways/does things that we cannot understand); [we consider] kings to be great because they explain things.
3 As the heavens for their height, And as the earth for its depth, So is the heart of kings unsearchable!
[It is not possible for anyone to measure] how high the sky is or how deep the earth/ocean is; likewise [SIM], it is not possible for us to know [all] that kings are thinking.
4 Take away the dross from the silver, And there will come forth a vessel for the founder;
[If workers] burn out the impure bits that are in silver, a man who makes things from silver can make something beautiful from the silver.
5 Take away the wicked man from the presence of the king, And his throne will be established by righteousness.
[Similarly, if] wicked [advisors] are taken away from a king, his government will remain secure, because [the king will be able to] act justly.
6 Put not thyself forth in the presence of the king, Nor set thyself in the place of the great;
When you stand in front of a king, do not try to (impress him/honor yourself) and do not (act like you are important/ask to sit where important people sit; )
7 For better is it that one should say to thee, “Come up hither!” Than that he should put thee in a lower place, In the presence of the prince whom thine eyes behold.
it is better if someone tells you to sit closer [to the king] than for [someone to tell you], while the king is listening, to sit further away in order that someone who is more important [may sit closer to the king].
8 Go not forth hastily to engage in a suit, Lest thou know not what to do in the end of it, When thine adversary hath put thee to shame.
Do not quickly go to a court [to tell the judge about] something that you have seen, because another witness may later [say something that proves that you are wrong, and as a result] you will be disgraced/ashamed. If that happens, (what will you do?/you will not know what to do.) [RHQ]
9 Maintain thy cause with thine adversary, But reveal not another's secret;
If you and someone else think differently about some matter, settle it between yourselves, and do not tell others any secret [that he has told you].
10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, And thy infamy depart not from thee.
If others find out that you have told secrets, you will be ashamed, and from that time on, (you will have a bad reputation/people will think badly about you).
11 A word spoken in season Is like apples of gold in figured-work of silver.
Something that is said that is [very] appropriate is [as delightful as seeing] [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
12 As a ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, So is a wise reprover to an attentive ear.
When a wise person rebukes/warns someone [SYN] who is willing to listen, that is [as valuable as] [SIM] a gold ring or a gold chain.
13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, So is a faithful messenger to them that send him; For he refresheth the spirit of his masters.
A messenger who (is reliable/tells someone else exactly what he was told to say) refreshes [the spirits of] his bosses who sent him like [SIM] (snow/cold water) refreshes [the ground] at the time that [people] harvest crops.
14 As clouds and wind without rain, So is the man that boasteth falsely of giving.
When someone promises to give a gift to us but never gives it, [that disappoints us] as much as [SIM] clouds and wind that come but do not bring any rain.
15 By long forbearing is a prince appeased; And a soft tongue breaketh bones.
If someone keeps requesting a ruler long enough to do something, he will [often] agree to do it; similarly, by speaking [MTY] gently we can [often] convince [others that what we say is right] [IDM].
16 Hast thou found honey? eat what is sufficient for thee, Lest thou be surfeited with it, and vomit it up.
If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.
17 Let thy foot be seldom in the house of thy friend, Lest he be surfeited with thee and hate thee.
Do not go to your neighbor’s house very often [to talk with him]; if you go [very] often, he will get tired of listening to you and start to hate you.
18 A battle-hammer, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, Is the man who beareth false witness against his neighbor.
To falsely accuse others [in court] is like [SIM] [attacking them with] a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
19 As a broken tooth, and a wavering foot, So is trust in an unfaithful man in time of trouble.
Depending on unreliable people when you have troubles is [as bad] as [trying to eat when] you have a bad/hurting tooth or [trying to walk when] your foot is crippled.
20 As he that taketh off a garment on a cold day, As vinegar upon nitre, So is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.
Singing to someone who is depressed [just causes him to feel worse]; it is like [SIM] taking off clothes on a very cold day or like putting vinegar on a wound.
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink;
If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
22 For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head, And the LORD will reward thee.
doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
23 As the north wind bringeth forth rain, So a backbiting tongue maketh an angry countenance.
When wind blows from the right direction, it will rain; [similarly] [SIM], if we gossip about others, that causes them to look at us very angrily.
24 Better is it to dwell in a corner of the housetop, Than with a quarrelsome woman in a large house.
It is better to live ([alone/by yourself]) in the corner of an attic/housetop than to live inside the house with a wife who is [always] nagging.
25 As cold water to the thirsty, So is good news from a far country.
Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits like [SIM] cold water refreshes us when we are very thirsty.
26 As a troubled fountain, and as a corrupted spring, So is a righteous man falling before the wicked.
When a righteous/good person (gives in/yields) to wicked [people], that is [as bad] as [SIM] a spring that becomes muddied or a fountain that becomes polluted.
27 To eat much honey is not good; So the search of high things is weariness.
It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
28 As a city broken through and without a wall, So is he that hath no rule over his spirit.
People who (cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry) [are unable to defend their behavior]; that is like [having] a city without a wall around it, [with the result that no one can defend it].
