Old/New Testament

² ·God is honored for what he keeps secret [^LIt is the glory of God to hide a matter/things; Deut. 29:29].
·Kings are honored for what they can discover [^LIt is the glory of kings to examine them].

³ No one can ·measure [examine] the height of the skies or the depth of the earth.
So also no one can ·understand [examine] the ·mind [^Lheart] of a king.

⁴ ·Remove [Separate] the ·scum [dross] from the silver,
    so ·the silver can be used by the silversmith [^La vessel will come out for refining].
⁵ ·Remove [Separate] wicked people from the king’s presence;
    then his ·government [^Lthrone] will be ·honest and last a long time [^Lestablished in righteousness].

⁶ Don’t ·brag [honor yourself] to the king
    and ·act as if you are great [^Ldon’t stand in the place of important people].
⁷ It is better for him to ·give you a higher position [^Lsay to you, “Come up here”]
    than to bring you down in front of the prince [Luke 14:7–11].

Because of something you have seen,
⁸     do not quickly take someone to court.
What will you do later
    when your neighbor ·proves you wrong [^Lhumiliates/shames you]?

⁹ ·If you have an argument with [^LMake your accusations against] your neighbor,
    ·don’t tell other people what was said [keep it a secret from others].
¹⁰ Whoever hears it might shame you,
    and ·you might not ever be respected again [^Lthe slander against you will never stop].

¹¹ The right word spoken at the right time
is as beautiful as gold apples in a silver ·bowl [^Lsetting].

¹² A wise ·warning [correction] to ·someone who will listen [^La listening ear]
is as valuable as gold earrings or fine gold jewelry.

¹³ Trustworthy messengers refresh those who send them,
like the coolness of snow ·in the summertime [^Lat harvest time].

¹⁴ People who brag about gifts they never give
are like clouds and wind that give no rain.

¹⁵ With patience you can convince a ruler,
and a ·gentle [tender] word ·can get through to the hard-headed [^Lbreaks bone].

¹⁶ If you find honey, ·don’t eat too much [eat the right amount],
    or it will make you full and you will throw up.
¹⁷ ·Don’t go to your neighbor’s house too often [^LRarely let your feet step into your neighbor’s house];
    ·too much of you will make him [^Lthey will have their fill of you and] hate you.

¹⁸ When you ·lie [falsely testify] about your neighbors [Ex. 20:16],
it hurts them as much as a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ Trusting unfaithful people ·when you are in [^Lon a day of] trouble
is like eating with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot.

²⁰ Singing songs to ·someone who is sad [^La troubled heart]
    is like taking away his coat on a cold day
or pouring vinegar on soda [^Csodium bicarbonate; mixing the two would cause an adverse reaction; the Greek Old Testament reads “scab” or “wound” instead of “soda”].

²¹ If ·your enemy [^Lone you hate] is hungry, feed him.
    If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
²² Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head,
    and the Lord will reward you [Rom. 12:19–21].

²³ As the north wind brings rain,
·telling gossip [^La hidden tongue] brings angry looks.

²⁴ It is better to live in a corner on the roof [21:9]
than inside the house with a ·quarreling [contentious] wife.

²⁵ Good news from a faraway place
is like a cool drink when you are tired.

²⁶ A good person who ·gives in to [staggers before] evil
is like a ·muddy [foul] spring or a ·dirty [ruined] well.

²⁷ It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor does it bring you honor to ·brag about yourself [seek honor].

²⁸ Those who ·do not control themselves [are unrestrained in spirit]
are like a city whose walls are broken down.

26 It shouldn’t snow in summer or rain at harvest.
Neither should a foolish person ever be honored.

² Curses ·will not harm someone who is innocent [that are undeserved never stick];
they are like ·darting [flitting] birds or flying swallows.

³ Whips are for horses, and ·harnesses [bridles] are for donkeys,
·so paddles are good for fools [^Land rods for the backs of fools].

⁴ Don’t answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or you will be just like them.

⁵ Answer fools when they speak foolishly,
or they will ·think they are really wise [^Lbe wise in their own eyes; ^Ca wise person must read the situation to know whether to answer or not].

⁶ Sending a message by a foolish person
is like cutting off your feet or drinking ·poison [^Lviolence].

⁷ A ·wise saying spoken by [^Lproverb in the mouth of] a fool
·is as useless as [^Ldangles like] the legs of a crippled person.

⁸ Giving honor to a foolish person
is like ·tying a stone [^La bag of stones] in a slingshot.

⁹ A ·wise saying spoken by [^Lproverb in the mouth of] a fool
is like a ·thorn stuck in the hand of a drunk [^Lthornbush in the hand of a fool].

¹⁰ Hiring a foolish person or anyone just passing by
is like an archer shooting ·at just anything [randomly].

¹¹ A fool who repeats his ·foolishness [foolish mistakes]
is like a dog that goes back to ·what it has thrown up [its vomit; 2 Pet. 2:22].

¹² There is more hope for a foolish person
than for those who ·think they are wise [^Lare wise in their own eyes].

¹³ The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the ·road [path]!
There’s a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴ Like a door turning back and forth on its hinges,
the lazy person turns over and over in bed.

¹⁵ Lazy people may ·put [^Lbury] their hands in the dish,
but they are ·too tired [or not able] to lift the food to their mouths.

¹⁶ The lazy person ·thinks he is wiser [^Lis wiser in his own eyes]
than seven people who give sensible answers.

¹⁷ Interfering in ·someone else’s quarrel as you pass by [or a fight not your own]
is like grabbing a dog by the ears [^Las it passes by; ^Cthe idea of passing by can go with either line].

¹⁸ Like a madman shooting
    deadly, burning arrows
¹⁹ is the one who ·tricks [deceives] a neighbor
    and then says, “I was just joking.”

²⁰ Without wood, a fire ·will go out [is extinguished],
and without gossip, ·quarreling will stop [conflict calms down].

²¹ Just as charcoal and wood keep a fire going,
a quarrelsome person ·keeps an argument going [kindles accusations].

²² The words of a gossip are like ·tasty bits of food [choice morsels];
·people like to gobble them up [^Lthey go down to the inmost parts].

²³ ·Kind words [^LSmooth lips] from a wicked ·mind [^Lheart]
are like ·a shiny [silver] coating on a clay pot.

²⁴ Those who hate you may try to ·fool [trick] you with their ·words [^Llips],
    but ·in their minds [inside] they ·are planning evil [^Lset deception].
²⁵ People’s ·words [^Lvoice] may be ·kind [gracious], but don’t believe them,
    because ·their minds are full of evil thoughts [^Lseven abominations are in their heart; ^Cseven is the number of completion].
²⁶ ·Lies [Trickery; Guile] can ·hide [cover] hate,
    but the evil will be ·plain to everyone [^Lrevealed in the assembly].

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit for others will fall into it.
Whoever tries to roll a boulder down on others will ·be crushed by it [^Lhave it turn back on them].

²⁸ ·Liars [^LLying tongues] hate the people they ·hurt [crush],
and ·false praise [^La flattering tongue] can ruin others.

“He ·gives [^Lscatters (seed) and gives] freely to the poor.
    ·The things he does are right and will continue forever [or His righteousness endures forever; Ps. 112:9].”