Proverbs 25–26

FURTHER WISE SAYINGS OF SOLOMON

The Right Word at the Right Time

¹25There are also these proverbs of Solomon,

collected by scribes of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

²God delights in concealing things;

scientists delight in discovering things.

³Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth,

the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep.

^4–5Remove impurities from the silver

and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice;

Remove the wicked from leadership

and authority will be credible and God-honoring.

^6–7Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;

don’t push your way into the place of prominence.

It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor

than face humiliation by being demoted.

⁸Don’t jump to conclusions—there may be

a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.

^9–10In the heat of an argument,

don’t betray confidences;

Word is sure to get around,

and no one will trust you.

^11–12The right word at the right time

is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,

And a wise friend’s timely reprimand

is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.

¹³Reliable friends who do what they say

are like cool drinks in sweltering heat—refreshing!

¹⁴Like billowing clouds that bring no rain

is the person who talks big but never produces.

¹⁵Patient persistence pierces through indifference;

gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.

A Person Without Self-Control

^16–17When you’re given a box of candy, don’t gulp it all down;

eat too much chocolate and you’ll make yourself sick;

And when you find a friend, don’t outwear your welcome;

show up at all hours and he’ll soon get fed up.

¹⁸Anyone who tells lies against the neighbors

in court or on the street is a loose cannon.

¹⁹Trusting a double-crosser when you’re in trouble

is like biting down on an abscessed tooth.

²⁰Singing light songs to the heavyhearted

is like pouring salt in their wounds.

^21–22If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch;

if he’s thirsty, bring him a drink.

Your generosity will surprise him with goodness,

and God will look after you.

²³A north wind brings stormy weather,

and a gossipy tongue stormy looks.

²⁴Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack

than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

²⁵Like a cool drink of water when you’re worn out and weary

is a letter from a long-lost friend.

²⁶A good person who gives in to a bad person

is a muddied spring, a polluted well.

²⁷It’s not smart to stuff yourself with sweets,

nor is glory piled on glory good for you.

²⁸A person without self-control

is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.

Fools Recycle Silliness

¹26We no more give honors to fools

than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.

²You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse

as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.

³A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—

and a stick for the back of fools!

⁴Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool;

you’ll only look foolish yourself.

⁵Answer a fool in simple terms

so he doesn’t get a swelled head.

⁶You’re only asking for trouble

when you send a message by a fool.

⁷A proverb quoted by fools

is limp as a wet noodle.

⁸Putting a fool in a place of honor

is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.

⁹To ask a moron to quote a proverb

is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.

¹⁰Hire a fool or a drunk

and you shoot yourself in the foot.

¹¹As a dog eats its own vomit,

so fools recycle silliness.

¹²See that man who thinks he’s so smart?

You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

¹³Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!

Tigers are prowling the streets!”

and then pull the covers back over their heads.

¹⁴Just as a door turns on its hinges,

so a lazybones turns back over in bed.

¹⁵A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,

but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.

Like Glaze on Cracked Pottery

¹⁶Dreamers fantasize their self-importance;

they think they are smarter

than a whole college faculty.

¹⁷You grab a mad dog by the ears

when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.

^18–19People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,

saying, “I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,”

Are worse than careless campers

who walk away from smoldering campfires.

²⁰When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;

when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.

²¹A quarrelsome person in a dispute

is like kerosene thrown on a fire.

²²Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;

do you want junk like that in your belly?

²³Smooth talk from an evil heart

is like glaze on cracked pottery.

^24–26Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,

all the while conniving against you.

When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute;

he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off.

No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice,

eventually his evil will be exposed in public.

²⁷Malice backfires;

spite boomerangs.

²⁸Liars hate their victims;

flatterers sabotage trust.