Proverbs 25
1 Also these are Proverbs of Solomon, that men of Hezekiah king of Judah transcribed: —
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 The honour of God [is] to hide a thing, And the honour 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 The heavens for height, and the earth for depth, And the heart of kings — [are] 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 dross from silver, And a vessel for the refiner goeth forth,
[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 before a king, And established in righteousness is his throne.
[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 Honour not thyself before a king, And in the place of the great stand not.
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 [that] he hath said to thee, 'Come thou up hither,' Than [that] he humble thee before a noble, Whom thine eyes have seen.
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 to strive, haste, turn, What dost thou in its latter end, When thy neighbour causeth thee to blush?
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 Thy cause plead with thy neighbour, And the secret counsel of another reveal not,
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 the hearer put thee to shame, And thine evil report turn not back.
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 Apples of gold in imagery of silver, [Is] the word spoken at its fit times.
Something that is said that is [very] appropriate is [as delightful as seeing] [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
12 A ring of gold, and an ornament of pure gold, [Is] the 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 a vessel of snow in a day of harvest, [So is] a faithful ambassador to those sending him, And the soul of his masters he refresheth.
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 Clouds and wind, and rain there is none, [Is] a man boasting himself in a false gift.
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-suffering is a ruler persuaded, And a soft tongue breaketh a bone.
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 Honey thou hast found — eat thy sufficiency, Lest thou be satiated [with] it, and hast vomited it.
If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.
17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house, Lest he be satiated [with] thee, and have hated 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 maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, [Is] the man testifying against his neighbour a false testimony.
To falsely accuse others [in court] is like [SIM] [attacking them with] a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
19 A bad tooth, and a tottering foot, [Is] the confidence of the treacherous in a day of adversity.
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 Whoso is taking away a garment in a cold day, [Is as] vinegar on nitre, And a singer of songs on a sad 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 he who is hating thee doth hunger, cause him to eat bread, And if he thirst, cause him to drink water.
If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
22 For coals thou art putting on his head, And Jehovah giveth recompense to thee.
doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
23 A north wind bringeth forth rain, And a secret tongue — indignant faces.
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 to sit on a corner of a roof, Than [with] a woman of contentions, and a house of company.
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 waters for a weary soul, So [is] a good report 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 A spring troubled, and a fountain corrupt, [Is] the righteous 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 The eating of much honey is not good, Nor a searching out of one's own honour — honour.
It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
28 A city broken down without walls, [Is] a man without restraint 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].
