More Proverbs of Solomon

1These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied down:

2The glory of God is to conceal a matter,

and the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

3The heavens for height and the earth for depth,

and the heart of kings cannot be searched.

4Remove the dross from the silver,

and a vessel will come forth for the refiner.

5Remove the wicked before the face of the king,

and his throne will be established in righteousness.

6You should not exalt yourself before the face of the king,

and in the place of the great ones you should not stand.

7For better that he says to you “Come up here!”

Than to set you low before a noble.

That which† your eyes have seen,

8you should not go out to dispute hastily,

for what will you do in the end

when your neighbor has put you to shame?

9Dispute your cause with your neighbor,

and do not uncover the secret to another,

10lest the one hearing it should bring shame to you,

and your defamation shall not turn back.

11Apples of gold in figures of silver,

is a word spoken at its right time.

12A ring of gold and an ornament of fine gold,

is a wise one giving rebuke to a listening ear.

13Like the cold of snow in time of harvest,

is a faithful messenger to those sending him,

and he restores the soul of his lords.

14Clouds and wind and no rain,

is a man boasting in gifts of deception.

15With slowness of anger a ruler may be persuaded,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16You have found honey, eat your sufficiency,

lest you be filled up with it and vomit it out.

17Make rare your foot from the house of your neighbor,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

18A club or a sharpened sword, or an arrow,

is a man answering against his neighbor a testimony of falsehood.

19A tooth broken or a foot tottering

is trust in one acting treacherously in a day of distress.

20One taking away a garment in a day of cold,

or vinegar on soda,†

is one singing with songs to a heart of misery.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him bread,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

22For in so doing you will be heaping burning coals upon his head,†

and YHWH will give recompense to you.

23A north wind twists out rain,

and a secret tongue brings faces of indignanation.

24Better to sit on the corner of roof,

than with a wife of quarrels and a house of company.

25Cold water over a weary soul,

is good news from a land far away.

26A spring made foul or a well spoiled

is a righteous one swaying before the face of a wicked one.

27To eat much honey is not good,

nor the searching for his own honor.

28A city breached, without a wall,

is a man who is without restraint to his spirit.