Read the Bible

¹ These are more wise sayings of Solomon, copied out by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

² It is the glory of God to keep a thing secret: but the glory of kings is to have it searched out.³ The heaven is high and the earth is deep, and the hearts of kings may not be searched out.

⁴ Take away the waste from silver, and a vessel will come out for the silver-worker.⁵ Take away evil-doers from before the king, and the seat of his power will be made strong in righteousness.

⁶ Do not take glory for yourself before the king, and do not put yourself in the place of the great:⁷ For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler.

⁸ Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame?⁹ Have a talk with your neighbour himself about your cause, but do not give away the secret of another:¹⁰ Or your hearer may say evil of you, and your shame will not be turned away.

¹¹ A word at the right time is like apples of gold in a network of silver.¹² Like a nose-ring of gold and an ornament of the best gold, is a wise man who says sharp words to an ear ready to give attention.

¹³ As the cold of snow in the time of grain-cutting, so is a true servant to those who send him; for he gives new life to the soul of his master.

¹⁴ As clouds and wind without rain, so is one who takes credit for an offering he has not given.

¹⁵ A judge is moved by one who for a long time undergoes wrongs without protest, and by a soft tongue even bone is broken.

¹⁶ If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.

¹⁷ Let not your foot be frequently in your neighbour's house, or he may get tired of you, and his feeling be turned to hate.

¹⁸ One who gives false witness against his neighbour is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ Putting one's faith in a false man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a shaking foot.

²⁰ Like one who takes off clothing in cold weather and like acid on a wound, is he who makes melody to a sad heart.

²¹ If your hater is in need of food, give him bread; and if he is in need of drink, give him water:²² For so you will put coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will give you your reward.

²³ As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.

²⁴ It is better to be living in an angle of the house-top, than with a bitter-tongued woman in a wide house.

²⁵ As cold water to a tired soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶ Like a troubled fountain and a dirty spring, is an upright man who has to give way before evil-doers.

²⁷ It is not good to take much honey: so he who is not looking for honour will be honoured.

²⁸ He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.