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25 These also are proverbs of Shlomo; the men of Hizkiyah king of Y’hudah copied them out:

God gets glory from concealing things;
    kings get glory from investigating things.
Like the sky for height or the earth for depth
    is the heart of kings — unfathomable.
Remove the impurities from the silver,
    and the smith has material to make a vessel.
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,
    and his throne will rest firmly on righteousness.
Don’t put yourself forward in the king’s presence;
    don’t take a place among the great.
For it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than be degraded in the presence of a nobleman.

What your eyes have seen,
    don’t rush to present in a dispute.
For what will you do later on,
    if your neighbor puts you to shame?
Discuss your dispute with your neighbor,
    but don’t reveal another person’s secrets.
10 If you do, and he hears of it, he will disgrace you,
    and your bad reputation will stick.

11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver
    is a word appropriately spoken.
12 Like a gold earring, like a fine gold necklace
    is a wise reprover to a receptive ear.
13 Like the coldness of snow in the heat of the harvest
    is a faithful messenger to the one who sends him;
    he refreshes his master’s spirit.
14 Like clouds and wind that bring no rain
    is he who boasts of gifts he never gives.

15 With patience a ruler may be won over,
    and a gentle tongue can break bones.

16 If you find honey, eat only what you need;
    for if you eat too much of it, you may throw it up;
17 so don’t visit your neighbor too much,
    or he may get his fill of you and come to hate you.

18 Like a club, a sword or a sharp arrow
    is a person who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

19 Relying on an untrustworthy person in a time of trouble
    is like [relying on] a broken tooth or an unsteady leg.

20 Like removing clothes on a chilly day or like vinegar on soda
    is someone who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21 If someone who hates you is hungry, give him food to eat;
    and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
22 For you will heap fiery coals [of shame] on his head,
    and Adonai will reward you.
23 The north wind brings rain
    and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

24 It is better to live on a corner of the roof
    than to share the house with a nagging wife.

25 Like cold water to a person faint from thirst
    is good news from a distant land.

26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
    is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.

27 It isn’t good to eat too much honey
    or to seek honor after honor.

28 Like a city breached, without walls,
    is a person who lacks self-control.

26 Like snow in summer or rain at harvest-time,
    so honor for a fool is out of place.

Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow,
    an undeserved curse will come home to roost.

A whip for a horse, a bridle for a donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.
Don’t answer a fool in terms of his folly,
    or you will be descending to his level;
but answer a fool as his folly deserves,
    so that he won’t think he is wise.
Telling a message to a fool and sending him out
    is like cutting off one’s feet and drinking violence.
The legs of the disabled hang limp and useless;
    likewise a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like one who ties his stone to the sling
    is he who gives honor to a fool.
Like a thorn branch in the hand of a drunk
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
10 A master can make anything,
    but hiring a fool is like hiring some passer-by.
11 Just as a dog returns to his vomit,
    a fool repeats his folly.
12 Do you see someone who thinks himself wise?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him!

13 The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets!
    A lion is roaming loose out there!”
14 The door turns on its hinges,
    and the lazy man on his bed.
15 The lazy person buries his hand in the dish
    but is too tired to return it to his mouth.
16 A lazy man is wiser in his own view
    than seven who can answer with sense.

17 Like someone who grabs a dog by the ears
    is a passer-by who mixes in a fight not his own.

18 Like a madman shooting deadly arrows and firebrands
19     is one who deceives another, then says, “It was just a joke.”

20 If there’s no wood, the fire goes out;
    if nobody gossips, contention stops.
21 As coals are to embers and wood to fire
    is a quarrelsome person to kindling strife.

22 A slanderer’s words are tasty morsels;
    they slide right down into the belly.

23 Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot
    are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.
24 He who hates may hide it with his speech;
    but inside, he harbors deceit.
25 He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;
    for seven abominations are in his heart.
26 His hatred may be concealed by deceit,
    but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
    and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

27 Don’t boast about tomorrow,
    for you don’t know what the day may bring.

Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth,
    a stranger and not your own lips.

Stone is heavy and sand a dead weight,
    but a fool’s provocation outweighs them both.

Fury is cruel and anger overwhelming,
    but who can stand up to jealousy?
Better open rebuke
    than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend are received as well-meant,
    but an enemy’s kisses are insincere.

A person who is full loathes a honeycomb;
    but to the hungry, any bitter thing is sweet.

Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.

Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
    [also] friendship sweet with advice from the heart.

10 Don’t abandon a friend
    who is also a friend of your father.

Don’t enter your brother’s house on the day of your calamity —
    better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

11 My son, become wise, and gladden my heart,
    so that I can answer my critics.

12 The clever see trouble coming and hide;
    the thoughtless go on and pay the penalty.

13 Seize his clothes because he guaranteed a stranger’s loan;
    take them as security for that unknown woman.

14 Whoever greets his neighbor in a loud voice at dawn
    might just as well have cursed him.

15 A leak that keeps dripping on a rainy day
    and the nagging of a wife are the same —
16 whoever can restrain her can restrain the wind
    or keep perfume on his hand from making itself known.

17 Just as iron sharpens iron,
    a person sharpens the character of his friend.

18 Whoever tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who is attentive to his master will be honored.

19 Just as water reflects the face,
    so one human heart reflects another.
20 Sh’ol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and human eyes are never satisfied.

21 The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold,
    but a person [is tested] by [his reaction to] praise.

22 You can crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle,
along with the grain being crushed;
    yet his foolishness will not leave him.

23 Take care to know the condition of your flocks,
    and pay attention to your herds.
24 For wealth doesn’t last forever,
    neither does a crown through all generations.
25 When the hay has been mown, and the new grass appears,
    and the mountain greens have been gathered;
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
    the goats will sell for enough to buy a field,
27 and there will be enough goat’s milk
    to [buy] food for you and your household
    and maintenance for your servant-girls.

15 So we who are strong have a duty to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong, rather than please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor and act for his good, thus building him up. For even the Messiah did not please himself; rather, as the Tanakh says, ‘The insults of those insulting you fell on me.’[a] For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope. And may God, the source of encouragement and patience, give you the same attitude among yourselves as the Messiah Yeshua had, so that with one accord and with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

So welcome each other, just as the Messiah has welcomed you into God’s glory. For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people in order to show God’s truthfulness by making good his promises to the Patriarchs, and in order to show his mercy by causing the Gentiles to glorify God — as it is written in the Tanakh,

“Because of this I will acknowledge you among the Gentiles
and sing praise to your name.”[b]

10 And again it says,

“Gentiles, rejoice with his people.”[c]

11 And again,

“Praise Adonai, all Gentiles!
Let all peoples praise him!”[d]

12 And again, Yesha‘yahu says,

“The root of Yishai will come,
he who arises to rule Gentiles;
Gentiles will put their hope in him.”[e]

13 May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh you may overflow with hope.

14 Now I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and well able to counsel each other. 15 But on some points I have written you quite boldly by way of reminding you about them, because of the grace God has given me 16 to be a servant of the Messiah Yeshua for the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of presenting the Good News of God, so that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, made holy by the Ruach HaKodesh.

17 In union with the Messiah Yeshua, then, I have reason to be proud of my service to God; 18 for I will not dare speak of anything except what the Messiah has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by my words and deeds, 19 through the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Yerushalayim all the way to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the Good News of the Messiah. 20 I have always made it my ambition to proclaim the Good News where the Messiah was not yet known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation, 21 but rather, as the Tanakh puts it,

“Those who have not been told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”[f]

22 This is also why I have so often been prevented from visiting you. 23 But now, since there is no longer a place in these regions that needs me, and since I have wanted for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you as I pass through on my way to Spain, and to have you help me travel there after I have enjoyed your company awhile.

25 But now I am going to Yerushalayim with aid for God’s people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia thought it would be good to make some contribution to the poor among God’s people in Yerushalayim. 27 They were pleased to do it, but the fact is that they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared with the Jews in spiritual matters, then the Gentiles clearly have a duty to help the Jews in material matters. 28 So when I have finished this task and made certain that they have received this fruit, I will leave for Spain and visit you on my way there; 29 and I know that when I come to you, it will be with the full measure of the Messiah’s blessings. 30 And now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God on my behalf 31 that I will be rescued from the unbelievers in Y’hudah, and that my service for Yerushalayim will be acceptable to God’s people there. 32 Then, if it is God’s will, I will come to you with joy and have a time of rest among you. 33 Now may the God of shalom be with you all. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 15:3 Psalm 69:10(9)
  2. Romans 15:9 2 Samuel 22:50, Psalm 18:50(49)
  3. Romans 15:10 Deuteronomy 32:43
  4. Romans 15:11 Psalm 117:1
  5. Romans 15:12 Isaiah 11:10
  6. Romans 15:21 Isaiah 52:15

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