25
📚These also are proverbs of Solomon,
copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah:
2 📚It is the glory of God to conceal
a matter,
but the honour of kings is to search
out a matter.
25:2 Prov 2:4; Deut 29:29; Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33-36; Matt 13:44. Men get honor from discovering the truth.⚜
3 📚The heavens for height,
and the earth for depth;
and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
25:3 This is true to some extent of all men. We are mysteries to ourselves and to others (Prov 20:24). But God searches and knows all things (Jer 17:9-10; John 2:24-25; Heb 4:13).⚜
4 📚Take away the dross from the silver,
and out comes a vessel from the silversmith.
5 📚Take away the wicked from
the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established
in righteousness.
25:4-5 This truth was at the heart of David’s resolutions in Ps 101. God is always at work refining His people (Ps 66:10-12) and the King of heaven, when He comes again, will do a complete work of establishing a righteous reign (Isa 11:1-5).⚜
6 📚Do not put yourself forward
in the presence of the king,
and do not stand in the place of great men;
7 📚For it is better that it be said to you,
“Come up here”, than that you should be
put lower in the presence of the prince
whom your eyes have seen.
8 📚Do not go out hastily to argue,
or you may not know
what to do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame.
9 📚Debate your case with your neighbor
himself, and do not reveal
the secret of another,
10 📚Or he who hears it may put
you to shame,
and your bad reputation not pass away.
25:8-10 Better to end a dispute before it gets to court (Matt 5:25-26).⚜
11 📚A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver.
12 📚Like an earring of gold and an ornament
of fine gold,
is a wise reprover
to an obedient ear.
13 📚Like the cold of snow in the time
of harvest,
is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 📚Whoever boasts of his gifts falsely
is like clouds and wind
without rain.
25:14 In other words, big words, no action.⚜
15 📚Through patience a ruler is persuaded,
and a soft tongue breaks the bone.
25:15 Patience and gentleness often can accomplish far more than haste and roughness.⚜
16 📚Have you found honey?
Eat only what is sufficient for you,
lest you be filled with it, and vomit it.
17 Let not your foot be too often in
your neighbour’s house,
or he may tire of you and hate you.
25:16-17 That is, honey and visits from neighbors have one thing in common – too much is too much.⚜
18 📚A man who bears false witness against
his neighbour is a club and a sword
and a sharp arrow.
19 📚Confidence in an unfaithful man
in time of trouble is like
a broken tooth, and a sprained foot.
20 📚Like one who takes away a garment
in cold weather,
and like vinegar on soda,
is one who sings songs
to a sad heart.
21 📚If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 📚For you will be heaping coals of fire
on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.
23 📚The north wind drives away rain;
so does an angry countenance
a backbiting tongue.
24 📚It is better to live in the corner
of the housetop,
than share a house with a quarrelsome woman.
25 📚As cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
26 📚A righteous man giving way to the wicked
is like a muddied spring,
and a polluted well.
25:26 Evil can taint all the springs of action and pollute that which should be clean, clear, and life-giving.⚜
27 📚It is not good to eat
too much honey;
so for people to look out for their
own glory is not glory.
28 📚He who does not rule his own spirit
is like a city that is broken down
and without walls.
25:28 Into a city with broken down walls may easily enter any unclean animal, any cruel beast, any evil man, any invading army. So the evils of the world, the influences of Satan enter the unguarded, undisciplined, unwatchful human heart.⚜