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Contemporary English Version

Proverbs 25:27

Don't eat too much honey or always want praise.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Honey;   Pride;   Self-Righteousness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Eating;   Exaltation;   Food;   Food, Physical-Spiritual;   Honey;   Self-Exaltation;   Temperance;   The Topic Concordance - Glory;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Honey;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Proverb, the Book of;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Glory;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Honey;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
It is not good to eat too much honeyor to seek glory after glory.
Hebrew Names Version
It is not good to eat much honey; Nor is it honorable to seek ones own honor.
King James Version
It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
English Standard Version
It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.
New American Standard Bible
It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.
New Century Version
It is not good to eat too much honey, nor does it bring you honor to brag about yourself.
Amplified Bible
It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.
World English Bible
It is not good to eat much honey; Nor is it honorable to seek ones own honor.
Geneva Bible (1587)
It is not good to eate much hony: so to search their owne glory is not glory.
Legacy Standard Bible
To eat too much honey is not good,Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.
Berean Standard Bible
It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one's own glory.
Complete Jewish Bible
It isn't good to eat too much honey or to seek honor after honor.
Darby Translation
It is not good to eat much honey; and to search into weighty matters is [itself] a weight.
Easy-to-Read Version
Just as eating too much honey is not good, it is not good for people to always be looking for honor.
George Lamsa Translation
It is not good to eat much honey, nor to search for high praises for oneself.
Good News Translation
Too much honey is bad for you, and so is trying to win too much praise.
Lexham English Bible
To eat much honey is not good, nor is seeking one's honor honorable.
Literal Translation
It is not good to eat much honey, and to search out their honor is not honor.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Like as it is not good to eate to moch hony, euen so he that wyll search out hye thynges, it shal be to heuy for him.
American Standard Version
It is not good to eat much honey; So for men to search out their own glory is grievous.
Bible in Basic English
It is not good to take much honey: so he who is not looking for honour will be honoured.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search out their own glory is not glory.
King James Version (1611)
It is not good to eat much hony: so for men to search their owne glory, is not glory.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
As it is not good to eate to muche honye, so curiously to searche the glory of heauenly thinges, is not commendable.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The locusts have no king, and yet march orderly at one command.
English Revised Version
It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search out their own glory is not glory.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
As it is not good to hym that etith myche hony; so he that is a serchere of maieste, schal be put doun fro glorie.
Update Bible Version
It is not good to eat much honey: And searching out their glory is glory.
Webster's Bible Translation
[It is] not good to eat much honey: so [for men] to search their own glory [is not] glory.
New English Translation
It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory.
New King James Version
It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one's own glory is not glory.
New Living Translation
It's not good to eat too much honey, and it's not good to seek honors for yourself.
New Life Bible
It is not good to eat much honey, and looking for honor is not good.
New Revised Standard
It is not good to eat much honey, or to seek honor on top of honor.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
To eat honey in abundance, is not good, nor is, searching out their own honour, an honourable thing.
Douay-Rheims Bible
As it is not good for a man to eat much honey, so he that is a searcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory.
Revised Standard Version
It is not good to eat much honey, so be sparing of complimentary words.
Young's Literal Translation
The eating of much honey is not good, Nor a searching out of one's own honour -- honour.
THE MESSAGE
It's not smart to stuff yourself with sweets, nor is glory piled on glory good for you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.

Contextual Overview

27 Don't eat too much honey or always want praise.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

not good: Proverbs 25:16

so: Proverbs 27:2, John 5:44, 2 Corinthians 12:1, 2 Corinthians 12:11, Philippians 2:3

Reciprocal: Leviticus 2:11 - honey Proverbs 24:13 - eat Proverbs 25:6 - Put not forth thyself John 7:18 - seeketh his glory John 8:54 - If Romans 12:3 - not to 2 Corinthians 10:12 - we dare not 2 Corinthians 11:30 - must 1 Thessalonians 2:6 - of men

Cross-References

Genesis 6:9
and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God.
Genesis 21:20
God blessed Ishmael, and as the boy grew older, he became an expert with his bow and arrows. He lived in the Paran Desert, and his mother chose an Egyptian woman for him to marry.
Genesis 25:3
Later, Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan, and when Dedan grew up, he had three sons: Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.
Genesis 25:5
While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.
Genesis 25:11
God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me."
Genesis 27:40
You will live by the power of your sword and be your brother's slave. But when you decide to be free, you will break loose."
Genesis 46:34
When he does, be sure to say, "We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep." If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen. Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.
Job 1:1
Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil.
Job 1:8
Then the Lord asked, "What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil."
Job 2:3
Then the Lord asked, "What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil. And he hasn't changed, even though you persuaded me to destroy him for no reason."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

[It is] not good to eat much honey,.... That is too much otherwise it is good to eat, Proverbs 24:13; but too much is hurtful, it surfeits the stomach increases choler e and creates loathing; and indeed, too much of anything is bad f;

so [for men] to search their own glory [is not] glory: to set forth their own excellencies, to sound forth their own praises to seek honour of men, to use all methods to gain popular applause; this is not glorious and praiseworthy, but dishonourable; or it may be rendered as it literally lies in the original, "but to search out", or "the searching out of their glory [is] glory" g; either the glory of righteous men, as Aben Ezra interprets it, such as stand and do not fall before the wicked; to search out their excellencies and virtues, and follow their example, is glorious and honourable: or to search the glory of the knowledge of divine things, comparable to honey, is commendable and glorious; for though a man may eat too much honey, yet he cannot have too much knowledge of divine and spiritual things, or be satiated and overfilled with them; to which the Septuagint version agrees, "but we ought to honour glorious words": the glorious truths of the word of God ought to be had in great esteem, and to search out the glory of them is honourable; our Lord directs to a search of the Scriptures, because they testify of him, John 5:39; and we can never know too much of him, or of the precious doctrines of the Gospel; unless this is to be understood of such things as should not be curiously inquired into; men should not be wise above what is written nor search into those things which God has concealed; as his own nature and perfections, the mode of subsisting of the three Persons in the Godhead, his secret purposes and decrees, and unsearchable judgments. To which sense agrees the Vulgate Latin version,

"so he who is the searcher of majesty shall be oppressed by glory;''

he shall be bore down by it, and not able to bear the glory of it: and the Targum is,

"to eat much honey is not good, nor to search glorious words.''

Jarchi takes the words in this sense; and illustrates them by the work of creation, Ezekiel's vision of the wheels, the decrees of God, and the reasons of them.

e Suidas in voce μουλι. f "Vitiosum est ubique quod nimium est", Seneca de Tranquilitate, c. 9. g חקר כבדם כבוד "investigatio gloriae illorum (est) gloria", Pagninus, Montanus, Michaelis; "scrutatio gloriae ipsorum est gloria", Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So for men ... - A difficult sentence, the text of which is probably defective. The words are not in the original. Many commentators render: so to search into weighty matters is itself a weight, i. e., people soon become satiated with it as with honey. Possibly a warning against an over-curious searching into the mysteries of God’s word or works.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 25:27. It is not good to eat much honeyCoverdale translates the whole passage thus: "Like as it is not good to eat to muche hony; even so, he that wyll search out hye thinges, it shal be to hevy for him." As he that etith myche honye, and it is not to him goode; so, that is a sercher of mageste, schal ben oppressid of glorie - Old MS. Bible. He that searches too much into mysteries, is likely to be confounded by them. I really think this is the meaning of the place; and shall not puzzle either myself or my reader with the discordant explanations which have been brought forward with the hope of illustrating this passage.


 
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