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Further Wise Sayings of Solomon

25These are other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.

² It is the glory of God to conceal things,
   but the glory of kings is to search things out.
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;
⁵ take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
   and his throne will be established in righteousness.
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
⁸   do not hastily bring into court;
for^* what will you do in the end,
   when your neighbour puts you to shame?
⁹ Argue your case with your neighbour directly,
   and do not disclose another’s secret;
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.
¹² Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
   is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.
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.
¹⁴ Like clouds and wind without rain
   is one who boasts of a gift never given.
¹⁵ With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
   and a soft tongue can break bones.
¹⁶ If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
   or else, having too much, you will vomit it.
¹⁷ Let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house,
   otherwise the neighbour will 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 neighbour.
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^*
   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.^*
21 If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;
   and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;
²² for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
   and the Lord will reward you.
²³ The north wind produces rain,
   and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
²⁴ It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
   than in a house shared with a contentious wife.
²⁵ Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
   so is good news from a far country.
²⁶ Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
   are the righteous who give way before the wicked.
²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey,
   or to seek honour on top of honour.
²⁸ Like a city breached, without walls,
   is one who lacks self-control.

26Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
   so honour is not fitting for a fool.
² Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
   an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
³ A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
   and a rod for the back of fools.
⁴ Do not answer fools according to their folly,
   or you will be a fool yourself.
⁵ Answer fools according to their folly,
   or they will be wise in their own eyes.
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 disabled person hang limp;
   so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
⁸ It is like binding a stone in a sling
   to give honour to a fool.
⁹ Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard
   is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
¹⁰ Like an archer who wounds everybody
   is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.^*
11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit
   is a fool who reverts to his folly.
¹² Do you see persons wise in their own eyes?
   There is more hope for fools than for them.
¹³ The lazy person says, ‘There is a lion in the road!
   There is a lion in the streets!’
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.
¹⁶ The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
   than seven who can answer discreetly.
¹⁷ Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears
   is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.
¹⁸ Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,
¹⁹ so is one who deceives a neighbour
   and says, ‘I am only joking!’
²⁰ For lack of wood the fire goes out,
   and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases.
²¹ As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire,
   so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
²² The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
   they go down into the inner parts of the body.
²³ Like the glaze^* covering an earthen vessel
   are smooth^* lips with an evil heart.
²⁴ An enemy dissembles in speaking
   while harbouring deceit within;
²⁵ when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it,
   for there are seven abominations concealed within;
²⁶ though hatred is covered with guile,
   the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed 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 works ruin.