Proverbs 25-27

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

² It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.^(B)
3 Like the heavens for height, like the earth for depth,
    so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
⁴ Take away the dross from the silver,
    and the smith has material for a vessel;^(C)
5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness.^(D)
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
⁷ for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen^(E)
8     do not hastily bring into court,
for^[a] what will you do in the end,
    when your neighbor puts you to shame?^(F)
9 Argue your case with your neighbor directly,
    and do not disclose another’s secret,^(G)
10 or else someone who hears you will bring shame upon you,
    and your ill repute will have no end.

¹¹ A word fitly spoken
    is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.^(H)
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
    is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.^(I)
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    are faithful messengers to those who send them;
    they refresh the spirit of their masters.^(J)
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
    is one who boasts of a gift never given.^(K)
15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
    and a soft tongue can break bones.^(L)
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
    lest, having too much, you vomit it up.^(M)
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
    lest the neighbor become weary of you and hate you.
¹⁸ Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow
    is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.^(N)
19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
    is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.
²⁰ Like vinegar on a wound^[b]
    is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
    sorrow gnaws at the human heart.^[c]
21 If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat,
    and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink,^(O)
22 for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
    and the Lord will reward you.^(P)
23 The north wind produces rain,
    and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.^(Q)
24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a contentious wife.^(R)
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
    so is good news from a far country.^(S)
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
    are the righteous who give way before the wicked.^(T)
27 It is not good to eat much honey
    or to seek honor on top of honor.^(U)
28 Like a city breached, without walls,
    is one who lacks self-control.^(V)

26 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
    so honor is not fitting for a fool.^(W)
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
    an undeserved curse goes nowhere.^(X)
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.^(Y)
4 Do not answer fools according to their folly,
    lest you be a fool yourself.^(Z)
5 Answer fools according to their folly,
    lest they be wise in their own eyes.^(AA)
6 It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence,
    to send a message by a fool.
⁷ The legs of a lame person hang limp;
    so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(AB)
8 It is like binding a stone in a sling
    to give honor to a fool.^(AC)
9 Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.^(AD)
10 Like an archer who wounds everybody
    is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.^[d]
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
    is a fool who reverts to his folly.^(AE)
12 Do you see people wise in their own eyes?
    There is more hope for fools than for them.^(AF)
13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road!
    There is a lion in the streets!”^(AG)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a lazy person in bed.
¹⁵ The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
    and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.^(AH)
16 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
    than seven who can answer discreetly.
¹⁷ Like someone who takes a passing dog by the ears
    is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.^(AI)
18 Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,^(AJ)
19 so is one who deceives a neighbor
    and says, “I am only joking!”^(AK)
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
    and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.^(AL)
21 As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire,
    so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.^(AM)
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
    they go down into the inner parts of the body.^(AN)
23 Like the glaze^[e] covering an earthen vessel
    are smooth^[f] lips with an evil heart.
²⁴ An enemy dissembles in speaking
    while harboring deceit within;^(AO)
25 when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it,
    for there are seven abominations concealed within;^(AP)
26 though hatred is covered with guile,
    the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.^(AQ)
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
    and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.^(AR)
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth works ruin.^(AS)

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.^(AT)
2 Let another praise you and not your own mouth,
    a stranger and not your own lips.^(AU)
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.^(AV)
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
    but who is able to stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.^(AW)
6 Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
    but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ The sated appetite spurns honey,
    but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.^(AX)
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is one who strays from home.
⁹ Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
    but the soul is torn by trouble.^[g]
10 Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
    do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is nearby
    than kindred who are far away.^(AY)
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
    so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.^(AZ)
12 The clever see danger and hide,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.^(BA)
13 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
    seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.^[h](BB)
14 Whoever blesses a neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
¹⁵ A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a contentious wife are alike;^(BC)
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp oil in the right hand.^[i]
17 Iron sharpens iron,
    and one person sharpens the wits^[j] of another.
¹⁸ Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored.^(BD)
19 Just as water reflects the face,
    so one human heart reflects another.
²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and human eyes are never satisfied.^(BE)
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    so a person is tested^[k] by being praised.^(BF)
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    but the folly will not be driven out.^(BG)

²³ Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds,
²⁴ for riches do not last forever,
    nor a crown for all generations.^(BH)
25 When the grass is gone, and new growth appears,
    and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,^(BI)
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field;
²⁷ there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and nourishment for your female servants.