The Path

Proverbs 25

World English Bible · Public Domain

¹ These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

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 hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴ Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;

⁵ Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶ Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;

⁷ for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

⁸ Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?

⁹ Debate your case with your neighbor, and don’t betray the confidence of another;

¹⁰ lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.

¹¹ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

¹² As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

¹³ As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴ As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.

¹⁵ By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.

¹⁶ Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.

¹⁷ Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.

¹⁸ A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth, or a lame foot.

²⁰ As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:

²² for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.

²³ The north wind produces rain; so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.

²⁴ It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.

²⁵ Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶ Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey; nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.

²⁸ Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.

James 4

World English Bible · Public Domain

¹ Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?

² You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.

³ You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?

⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

⁹ Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹ Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.

¹² Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”

¹⁴ Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.

¹⁵ For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”

¹⁶ But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.