More wise sayings from Solomon
25
1 Here are more wise sayings/words that Solomon wrote. Some men who worked for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied them from a scroll that Solomon had written.
2 We consider God to be great because he ◄acts in mysterious ways/does things that we cannot understand►;
we consider kings to be great because they explain things.
3 It is not possible for anyone to measure how high the sky is or how deep the earth/ocean is;
likewise [SIM], it is not possible for us to know all that kings are thinking.
4 If workers burn out the impure bits that are in silver,
a man who makes things from silver can make something beautiful from the silver.
5 Similarly, if wicked advisors are taken away from a king,
his government will remain secure, because the king will be able to act justly.
6 When you stand in front of a king, do not try to ◄impress him/honor yourself►
and do not ◄act like you are important/ask to sit where important people sit;►
7 it is better if someone tells you to sit closer to the king
than for someone to tell you, while the king is listening, to sit further away in order that someone who is more important may sit closer to the king.
8 Do not quickly go to a court to tell the judge about something that you have seen,
because another witness may later say something that proves that you are wrong, and as a result you will be disgraced/ashamed.
If that happens, ◄what will you do?/you will not know what to do.► [RHQ]
9 If you and someone else think differently about some matter,
settle it between yourselves, and do not tell others any secret that he has told you.
10 If others find out that you have done that,
you will be ashamed,
and from that time on, ◄you will have a bad reputation/people will think badly about you►.
11 Something that is said that is very appropriate
is as delightful as seeing [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
12 When a wise person rebukes/warns someone [SYN] who is willing to listen,
that is as valuable as [SIM] a gold ring or a gold chain.
13 A messenger who ◄is reliable/tells someone else exactly what he was told to say► refreshes the spirits of his bosses who sent him
like [SIM] ◄snow/cold water► refreshes the ground at the time that people harvest crops.
14 When someone promises to give a gift to us but never gives it,
that disappoints us as much as [SIM] clouds and wind that come but do not bring any rain.
15 If someone keeps requesting a ruler long enough to do something, he will often agree to do it;
similarly, by speaking [MTY] gently we can often convince others that what we say is right [IDI].
16 If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it,
because doing that may cause you to vomit.
17 Do not go to your neighbor's house very often to talk with him;
if you go very often, he will get tired of listening to you and start to hate you.
18 To falsely accuse others in court
is like [SIM] attacking them with a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
19 Depending on unreliable people when you have troubles
is as bad as trying to eat when you have a bad/hurting tooth or trying to walk when your foot is crippled.
20 Singing to someone who is depressed just causes him to feel worse;
it is like [SIM] taking off clothes on a very cold day
or like putting vinegar on a wound.
21 If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat;
if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
22 doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDI],
and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
23 When wind blows from the north, it will rain;
similarly [SIM], if we ◄gossip/tell secrets► about others, that causes them to look at us very angrily.
24 It is better to live ◄alone/by yourself► in the corner of an attic/housetop
than to live inside the house with a wife who is always nagging/quarreling.
25 Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits
like [SIM] cold water refreshes our bodies when we are very thirsty.
26 When a righteous/good person ◄gives in/yields► to wicked people,
that is as bad as [SIM] a spring that becomes muddied or a fountain that becomes polluted.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey,
and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
28 People who ◄cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry► are unable to defend their behavior;
that is like having a city without a wall around it, with the result that no one can defend it.