Proverbs 25:2–6
2 It is God’s privilege to conceal things
and the king’s privilege to discover them.
3 No one can comprehend the height of heaven, the depth of the earth,
or all that goes on in the king’s mind!
4 Remove the impurities from silver,
and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s court,
and his reign will be made secure by justice.
6 Don’t demand an audience with the king
or push for a place among the great.
Proverbs 25:2–6 — The New International Version (NIV)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
4 Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
5 remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
Proverbs 25:2–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart 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,
Proverbs 25:2–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:
But the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
3 The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,
And the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
And there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
5 Take away the wicked from before the king,
And his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king,
And stand not in the place of great men:
Proverbs 25:2–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from silver,
And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
5 Take away the wicked from before the king,
And his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king,
And do not stand in the place of the great;
Proverbs 25:2–6 — New Century Version (NCV)
2 God is honored for what he keeps secret.
Kings are honored for what they can discover.
3 No one can measure the height of the skies or the depth of the earth.
So also no one can understand the mind of a king.
4 Remove the scum from the silver,
so the silver can be used by the silversmith.
5 Remove wicked people from the king’s presence;
then his government will be honest and last a long time.
6 Don’t brag to the king
and act as if you are great.
Proverbs 25:2–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing;
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
And there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner:
5 Take away the wicked from before the king,
And his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6 Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king,
And stand not in the place of great men:
Proverbs 25:2–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a thing. 3 The heavens for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner: 5 take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6 Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of the great;
Proverbs 25:2–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
2 It is the glory of God to hide things
but the glory of kings to investigate them.
3 ⸤Like⸥ the high heavens and the deep earth,
so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take the impurities out of silver,
and a vessel is ready for the silversmith to mold.
5 Take a wicked person away from the presence of a king,
and justice will make his throne secure.
6 Do not brag about yourself in front of a king
or stand in the spot that belongs to notable people,
Proverbs 25:2–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
3 As the heaven is high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.
4 Remove impurities from silver,
and a vessel will be produced for a silversmith.
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Don’t brag about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
Proverbs 25:2–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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;
Proverbs 25:2–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2 The glory of God conceals things,
but the glory of kings searches out things.
3 As heaven is to height and the earth is to depth,
so is the heart of kings—there is no searching.
4 Remove the dross from silver,
and it will become a vessel for the smith.
5 Remove the wicked before a king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not promote yourself before the king,
and in the place of the great ones do not stand.
Proverbs 25:2–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
2 When God hides a matter, he gets glory.
When kings figure out a matter, they get glory.
3 The heavens are high and the earth is deep.
In the same way, the minds of kings are hard to figure out.
4 Remove the scum from the silver.
Then the master worker can make something.
5 Remove sinful people from where the king is.
When he does what is right, his kingdom will be secure.
6 Don’t brag in front of the king.
Don’t claim a place among great people.
Proverbs 25:2–6 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
And there comes out a vessel for the smith;
5 Take away the wicked before the king,
And his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not claim honor in the presence of the king,
And do not stand in the place of great men;