Proverbschapter 25
28 verses · Solomon and others · 10th to 5th century BC · Wisdom and poetry
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Introduction
Solomon and others, Wisdom and poetry, Proverbs Overview.
This chapter opens a new collection, sayings of Solomon that the scribes of King Hezekiah copied out about two and a half centuries after him. It was first read in Judah under the threat of Assyria, by a nation that needed restraint and honest speech. Many of its sayings are built as comparisons, a picture from nature or from the craftsman's bench set beside a lesson for life. Listen for the counsel about how to stand before a king, and for the pictures of speech that is well timed and speech that is not. The chapter teaches restraint in speech, in appetite and in temper.
Context
- Who
- A later generation in Judah, receiving Solomon's words through the king's own archive
- What
- The opening of the Hezekiah collection: sayings of Solomon, many built as comparisons, on kings, speech, neighbours and enemies.
- Where
- The scribal chamber of Hezekiah's palace in Jerusalem, where older collections were copied out.
- When
- Sayings of Solomon from about 970 to 931 BC, copied out under Hezekiah, about 715 to 686 BC.
- Why
- To hand a later generation in Judah the wisdom of restraint, timely speech and kindness to an enemy.
Historical context
The chapter opens with a note about how the Bible was made: "these are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out." Roughly two and a half centuries after Solomon, a team of royal scribes went through the palace archives and published a further collection. Hezekiah's reign, dated by the standard chronology of the Hebrew kings to about 715-686 BC, was a period of deliberate religious and literary recovery. This verse is the Bible telling you its own editorial history in plain sight.
Show the rest of the historical context, 4 more paragraphs
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." The craft behind that is inlay work, gold set into a silver frame or net, the kind of luxury metalwork traded through the region. The point is fit: the right shape dropped into the right setting.
"Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee." Houses were small, doors were open, and visiting was constant. There was no polite way to end a visit, which is why this needed saying.
"Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head" is debated. Some connect it to an Egyptian ritual in which a repentant man carried a basin of burning coals on his head as a public sign of a changed mind; others read it plainly as the burning shame that kindness produces in an enemy. Either way the command around it is the same, feed him and give him water.
"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." An unwalled town in that world was not merely vulnerable; it was already effectively taken. Anyone could walk in at any hour.
Significance
Hezekiah's Judah faced Assyria at its most dangerous, and the king's men chose this moment to publish wisdom rather than propaganda. The first hearers of this collection were a nation under threat being handed self-control, restraint, and honest speech.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter" set the tone. God hides things on purpose; a good ruler is one who keeps digging.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
No public reading in the synagogue is drawn from this chapter. The site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts was probed for this lane over Proverbs 16 to 31. It printed parashot total 0, haftarah uses total 0 and 0 chapters with a synagogue reading. It printed null for a festival reading of the book. The same probe printed 54 weekly portions and 6 festival readings in the table as a whole. The corpus ties no custom of the home or the synagogue to this chapter, so this part records the absence.
The chapter is met in the study of the Midrash and the Talmud instead. The corpus links it to eighteen collections. The two it cites most often here are Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) and Bereshit Rabbah.
How it is read
Rashi is quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY. Every quotation is held to fifty words or fewer because the translation is modern. The chapter opens a new collection, and Rashi reads its heading as a report of teaching. "When Hezekiah was appointed king, he returned to expound upon them" (Rashi on Proverbs 25:1:1). He adds that Hezekiah placed disciples in every city. The report he cites from the chapter Chelek, Sanhedrin 94b, is that "They searched from Dan to Beersheba and could not find an ignoramus". The book dossier this site carries places chapters 25 to 29 in Hezekiah's reign on the book's own heading. It also records that the Talmud at Bava Batra 15a credits Hezekiah and his company with writing out Proverbs.
The glory of God in concealing a matter at the second verse is named exactly: "the account of the Merkavah and the account of the Creation" (Rashi on Proverbs 25:2:1). The heart of kings of the third verse is unsearchable because of the judgments and wars that come before them (Rashi on Proverbs 25:3:1). The clouds without rain of the fourteenth verse are a man who boasts of the charity he will give and does not give it (Rashi on Proverbs 25:14:1).
Two sayings carry a plain reading and one of the Rabbis. The hungry enemy of the twenty-first verse is read plainly first, and then: "Our Rabbis, however, explained it as referring to the evil inclination" (Rashi on Proverbs 25:21:1). Feeding him means drawing oneself into the study hall and giving him the bread and water of Torah. The neighbour's house visited sparingly of the seventeenth verse is, by its homiletic reading, the house of the LORD, where a man should not keep bringing offerings for sins committed inadvertently (Rashi on Proverbs 25:17:1). The corner of the roof at the twenty-fourth verse is again read as "the withdrawal of the Shechinah" (Rashi on Proverbs 25:24:1).
The corpus carries one further note on this chapter without an English text, marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. It is cited by ref alone: Metzudat David on Proverbs 25:5:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty rabbinic locators on this chapter, thirty filed as Midrash and ten as Talmud, and the text of none, so each is cited here by its ref and never quoted or paraphrased. At verse 1 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 1:4, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 11:67. At verse 2 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 82:2 and Bereshit Rabbah 9:1. At verse 3 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Shabbat 1:10, with Ein Yaakov, Shabbat 1:11. At verse 4 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 7:1 and Bereshit Rabbah 10:2. At verse 6 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 4:20 and Bereshit Rabbah 55:6. At verse 7 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 25:4, with Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 33:8. At verse 8 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 6:9. At verses 8 to 9 it holds Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 6:8. At verse 9 it holds Sanhedrin 44b:5. At verse 10 it holds Otzar Midrashim, Midrash 'Leolam' 19:2. At verse 11 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 1:5, with Bereshit Rabbah 93:3. At verse 12 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 19:3 and Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 2:1:12. At verse 13 it holds Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 24:54:1, with Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 24:54:2. At verse 14 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 8:4 and Bereshit Rabbah 47:5. At verse 15 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Gittin 7:3, with Ein Yaakov, Gittin 7:3. At verse 16 it holds Chagigah 14b:9, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Khagigah 2:20. At verse 17 it holds Chagigah 7a:14, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Khagigah 1:17. At verse 18 it holds Eikhah Rabbah, Petichta 13, with Midrash Mishlei 25:4. At verse 20 it holds Chullin 133a:11. At verses 21 to 22 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 16:3. At verse 22 it holds Midrash Tanchuma, Vayakhel 7:1. At verse 23 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Taanit 1:24. At verse 24 it holds Eikhah Rabbah, Petichta 25. At verse 25 it holds Bereshit Rabbah 13:15. At verse 26 it holds Bereshit Rabbah 75:2. At verse 28 it holds Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Chukat 10:1. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and it is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Proverbs 25:1:1 to 25:24:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Proverbs 25:5:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/proverbs/25.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, printing no portion, no Haftarah and no festival reading for this book; The book dossier, src/components/book/dossier-content/proverbs.ts, for the headings and the shape of the book.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Copied Out by the Men of Hezekiah: the Glory of Kings
These are additional proverbs of Solomon: n, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah" is the book's fifth header. It states plainly that inspired material could be gathered and preserved by later scribes. Hezekiah reigned roughly two and a half centuries after Solomon.
Proverbs 25:1
“These are are also proverbs of Solomon,.... These that follow to the end of the book, as well as those which go before. Here begins a "third", some say a "fourth" part of this book. The Targum and Syriac version read, "these are also the deep proverbs of Solomon;'' and the Arabic version adds, "the exposition of which is difficult;'' which the men Hezekiah king of Judah copied out; out of the writings of Solomon; out of his three thousand proverbs, it, nay be; or out of the public records, which contained an account of his words and deeds.”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Proverbs 25:1
“And where is all this rich knowledge? and where are these mysteries? and where are the books? For the only ones extant are Proverbs, and Wisdom, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. What then? Does the Scripture speak falsely? God forbid. But the matter of his writings was various, as is shown in the phrase "Song of Songs; "for that indicates that in this one book he digested the contents of the 5,000 songs. In the days moreover of Hezekiah, there were some of the books selected for use, and others set aside.”
Hippolytus of Rome · written before 235 · Hippolytus Exegetical Fragmentspatristic
Proverbs 25:1
“The character of these proverbs sustains the title (see Introduction). also--refers to the former part of the book. copied out--literally, "transferred," that is, from some other book to this; not given from memory.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Proverbs 25:2-3
It is the glory of God: d to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out." God's glory in mystery is answered by a king's glory in careful inquiry. The next verse widens the comparison, since "the hearts of kings cannot be searched."
Proverbs 25:2
THE translation of our text, if it had been more literal, would have run thus, "It is the glory of God to covera matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." For the sake of variety in language, our translators sometimes gave two different interpretations to the same word and though that makes the verbiage more smooth, it is generally a great mistake and apt to mislead us. The word, "conceal," is just the same word that we get in the passage, "Blessed is he... whose sin is covered."
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2838: “God's Glory in Hiding Sin” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
the hearts of kings cannot be searched: Albert Barnes reads verse 3 as the other side of verse 2. What the mind of God is to those who search, the heart of a wise king is to those who try to guess his counsels. The heavens and the earth set the scale.
Proverbs 25:3
“The other side of the thought of Pro 25:2. What the mind of God is to the searchers after knowledge, that the heart of the true and wise king is to those who try to guess its counsels.”
Proverbs 25:4-5
Remove the dross from the silver: r, and a vessel for a silversmith will come forth" gives the metalwork. "Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness." Corrupt counselors are the dross removed before a kingdom's silver can be trusted.
Proverbs 25:4
“Take away the dross from the silver,.... By putting it into the furnace, and purging it from it: and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer; not out of the furnace, a vessel formed and shaped, but pure silver shall come out of it for the refiner; of which a vessel may be made, very honourable, beautiful, and fit for use: the application of it is in Pro 25:5.”
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence: Verse 5 applies the refining picture of verse 4 to the royal court. The wicked around a king are the dross in his silver. Albert Barnes pictures the king himself as a refiner of silver, like the Lord he represents, and cites Malachi 3:3.
Proverbs 25:5
“The interpretation of the proverb of Pro 25:4. The king himself, like the Lord whom he represents, is to sit as “a refiner of silver” Mal 3:3.”
Proverbs 25:6-7
Do not exalt yourself in the presence: e of the king" counsels modesty in rank. The reason anticipates the Gospels: it is better to be told "Come up here." Henry notes that older writers heard the same principle in Christ's parable of the wedding guest at Luke 14:8-10, humility rewarded.
Proverbs 25:6
“The pushing, boastful temper is, in the long run, suicidal. It is wiser as well as nobler to take the lower place at first in humility, than to take it afterward with shame. Compare Luk 14:8-10, which is one of the few instances in which our Lord’s teaching was fashioned, as to its outward form, upon that of this book.”
it is better that he says to you: The man who takes the place of great men may be demoted, and the humble man is told to come up here. Christ's teaching at Luke 14:8 to 10 takes its outward form from this saying, as Albert Barnes and Adam Clarke both note. Barnes calls the boastful temper self-defeating.
Proverbs 25:7
“Come up hither - Our Lord refers to this, see Luk 14:8 (note), and the notes there. Be humble; affect not high things; let those who are desperate climb dangerous precipices; keep thyself quiet, and thou shalt live at ease, and in peace. Hear the speech of a wise heathen on this subject: - Quid fuit, ut tutas agitaret Daedalus alas; Icarus immensas nomine signet aquas? Nempe quod hic alte, dimissus ille volabat. Nam pennas ambo nonne habuere suas? Crede mihi; bene qui latuit, bene vixit; et infra Fortunam debet quisque manere suam.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 25:8-10
do not bring hastily to court: The command "do not bring hastily to court" warns against rushing into a dispute before knowing how it will end. "Argue your case with your neighbor" keeps the quarrel between the two parties. A secret told to a third person can bring infamy that will "never go away."
Proverbs 25:8
“Go not forth hastily to strive - לרב lerib, to enter into a lawsuit. Keep from this pit or the bottomless deep, unless urged by the direst necessity.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Argue your case with your neighbor: himself and keep another's confidence. Albert Barnes sees here an early form of the standard Christ set at Matthew 18:15. The motive differs, since here it is prudence and fear of shame, while Christ's teaching rests on divine authority and his perfect example.
Proverbs 25:9
“An anticipation of the highest standard of ethical refinement Mat 18:15, but with a difference. Here the motive is prudential, the risk of shame, the fear of the irretrievable infamy of the betrayer of secrets. In the teaching of Christ the precept rests upon the divine authority and the perfect example.”
lest the one who hears may disgrace you: The one who hears may turn on the betrayer. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read the secret as the opponent's own, told to others to disgrace him. Albert Barnes calls the result the infamy of the betrayer of secrets, and that infamy will never go away.
Proverbs 25:10
“Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame,.... Or, "reproach thee" (c) with treachery and deceit.”
A word fitly spoken: n is like apples of gold in settings of silver" is among the most quoted lines in the book. The Hebrew word rendered "fitly" is rare and ordinarily taken as well-timed. The same true word can land well at one moment and badly at another.
Proverbs 25:11
“Apples of gold - Probably the golden colored fruit set in baskets (i. e., chased vessels of open worked silver); so is a word spoken upon its wheels (i. e., moving quickly and quietly on its way). The proverb may have had its origin in some kingly gift to the son of David, the work of Tyrian artists, like Hiram and his fellows. Others gazed on the cunning work and admired, but the wise king saw in the costly rarity a parable of something higher. “A word well set upon the wheels of speech” excelled it.”
Like an earring of gold: d or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear" pairs with the verse. Here the subject is correction well received, where verse 11 has a word well timed. The listening ear is the hinge.
Proverbs 25:12
“As an ear-ring of gold - I believe נזם nezem to mean the nose-ring with its pendants; the left nostril is pierced, and a ring put through it, as in the ear. This is very common in almost every part of the East, among women of condition. This is a farther illustration of the above metaphor.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Like the cold of snow in the time: e of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him" praises reliability. The line "he refreshes the soul of his masters" names the effect directly. The messenger who simply does what he was sent to do is valued.
Proverbs 25:13
“A picture of the growing luxury of the Solomonic period. The “snow in harvest” is not a shower of snow or hail, which would be terrifying and harmful rather than refreshing (compare 1Sa 12:17-18); but, rather, the snow of Lebanon or Hermon put into wine or other drink to make it more refreshing in the scorching heat of May or June at the king’s summer palace on Lebanon (1Ki 9:19, note; Son 7:4, note). More reviving even than the iced wine cup was the faithful messenger. Contrast Pro 10:26.”
Like clouds and wind without rain: n is the man who boasts of gifts never given" answers the messenger of verse 13 with his opposite. Gill notes that in a farming setting clouds without rain were a real loss, matching the cost of a promised gift that never arrives.
Proverbs 25:14
“A false gift - מתת שקר mattath shaker, a lying gift, one promised, but never bestowed. “Whoso maketh greate boastes, and giveth nothing;” Coverdale. So the Vulgate: “Vir gloriosus, et promissa non complens;” “A bragging man, who does not fulfill his promises,” is like clouds which appear to be laden with vapor, and like the wind which, though it blow from a rainy quarter, brings no moistness with it. So the vain boaster; he is big with promise, but performs nothing.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
A Word Fitly Spoken, and Coals of Fire on His Head
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded: d, and a gentle tongue can break a bone" pairs patience with gentleness. The bone image is the proverb's surprise, the softest instrument breaking what force could not. Bridges sets the verse beside 15:1, where gentleness also moves hard and powerful men.
Proverbs 25:15
“A soft tongue breaketh the bone - This is similar to another proverb on the same subject: “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” An angry word does nothing but mischief.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Proverbs 25:15
“By patience, a ruler shall be pacified, etc. Although you have offended the Lord by sinning, yet you can merit his clemency if you bear adversities imposed on you for your sins with patience, and with humble satisfaction render the hardness of your former stubbornness.”
Bede · written before 735 · Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 25:15
“A soft tongue - Winning and gentle speech does what it seems at first least capable of doing; it overcomes obstacles which are as bones that the strongest jaws would fail to crush.”
Proverbs 25:16-17
If you find honey: y, eat just what you need, lest you have too much" turns a table proverb into a rule of moderation. "Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary and hate you" applies the same principle to friendship.
Proverbs 25:16
Hast thou found honey? - Make a moderate use of all thy enjoyments. “Let thy moderation be known unto all, and appear in all things.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Proverbs 25:16
“Hast thou found honey?....”
Proverbs 25:16
“Hast thou found honey? - Compare Jdg 14:8; 1Sa 14:27. The precept extends to the pleasure of which honey is the symbol.”
Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house: The honey of verse 16 teaches the rule for visits to a neighbor's house. Too much of a good thing turns it sour, and a neighbor grows weary and comes to hate a guest who is always there. John Gill reads the pair as one lesson given twice.
Proverbs 25:17
“Let thy foot be seldom in the house of thy friend, etc. Though thy visits were sweet as honey, he may soon learn to loathe them.”
2 more voices on this verse
Proverbs 25:17
“Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house,.... Not but that it is commendable to be neighbourly and friendly, or for one neighbour to visit another; but then it should not be very frequent; a man should not be always or often at his neighbour's house.”
Proverbs 25:17
Withdraw thy foot - Another proverb will illustrate this: “Too much familiarity breeds contempt.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 25:18-20
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow: w is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor" stacks three weapons for one sin. The next line moves from weapon to disappointment, trust that cannot bear weight, like "a broken tooth or a foot out of joint."
Proverbs 25:18
“He that has been struck by a stone goes to a physician, but sharper than a stone are the strokes of calumny. For, as Solomon has said, "A false witness is a war club, and a sword, and a sharp arrow," and its wounds truth alone is able to cure. If truth is set at naught, the wounds grow worse and worse.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Defense Before Constantius 12patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 25:18
“A false witness is as destructive to reputation, as such weapons to the body (Pr 24:28). beareth . . . witness--literally, "answereth questions," as before a judge, against his neighbor.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Like a broken tooth: Albert Barnes lays the stress on uselessness. A tooth that breaks or a foot out of joint fails just when it is needed, and so does trust in a faithless man. Bede joins the verse to Jeremiah's curse on the man who trusts in man.
Proverbs 25:19
“Stress is to be laid on the uselessness of the “broken tooth” and the “foot out of joint,” or tottering, rather than on the pain connected with them. The King James Version loses the emphasis and point of the Hebrew by inverting the original order, which is “a broken ... joint is confidence” etc.”
one who sings songs to a heavy heart: Cheerful songs can wound a heavy heart. Adam Clarke comments on the older reading, where the vinegar falls on nitre. He identifies nitre as the natron of the ancients, a soda found in Syria and India.
Proverbs 25:20
“As vinegar upon nitre - The original word נתר nather is what is known among chemists as the natron of the ancients and of the Scriptures, and carbonate of soda. It is found native in Syria and India, and occurs as an efflorescence on the soil. In Tripoli it is found in crystalline incrustations of from one third to half an inch thiek. It is found also in solution in the water of some lakes in Egypt and Hungary.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry: Paul quotes "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat" at Romans 12:20. The "burning coals" are read two ways, as shame that may soften an enemy's conscience or as a figure for God's coming judgment. The promise that "the LORD will reward you" stands under either reading.
Proverbs 25:21
“A precept reproduced by Paul Rom 12:20; the second clause of which seems at first sight to suggest a motive incompatible with a true charity. Lev 16:12 suggests an explanation. The high priest on the Day of Atonement was to take his censer, to fill it with “coals of fire,” and then to put the incense thereon for a sweet-smelling savor. So it is here.”
Cross references
Proverbs 25:21
- Quoted inRomans 12:20On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
'If thine enemy hunger, feed him' (heap coals of fire)
heap burning coals on his head: Adam Clarke takes them from smelting, where heaped coals melt the ore. John Gill reads them as shame that leads a fed enemy to repentance while the LORD rewards the giver. Albert Barnes points instead to the high priest's censer of coals in Leviticus 16:12.
Proverbs 25:22
“For thou shall heap coals of fire upon his head,.... Not to increase his punishment and damnation, the more aggravated by kindness shown him; but to bring him by such means to a sense of former injuries, and to shame for them, repentance of them, and love of the person injured, and carefulness for the future of doing him any further wrong; and the Lord shall reward thee: with good things, for all the good done to thine enemy, whether it has the desired effect on him or not; or whether he rewards thee or not; see Rom 12:20.”
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 25:22
“Thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head - Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores: - So artists melt the sullen ore of lead, By heaping coals of fire upon its head: In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow, And pure from dross the silver runs below. S. Wesley.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
As the north wind brings forth rain: n, so a backbiting tongue brings angry looks" draws on the weather to picture the work of a talebearer. The backbiting tongue is the cause, and the angry looks follow it as rain follows the north wind.
Proverbs 25:23
“The north wind driveth away rain,.... So the geographer (w) says, the swift north wind drives away the moist clouds; which usually come from the opposite quarter, the south.”
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 25:23
“The marginal reading is far more accurate and gives a better sense. The northwest wind in Palestine commonly brings rain, and this was probably in the thought of the writer.”
Better to live on a corner of the roof: f than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife" echoes 21:9 almost word for word. The repetition is honest about strife at home. A cramped corner of the roof is preferable to a house filled with constant contention.
Proverbs 25:24
What necessity rests upon me to run the risk of the wife I marry proving good or bad? "It is better," [Solomon] says, "to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious and passionate woman." He who is married knows how seldom we find a wife without these faults. Hence that sublime orator, Varius Geminus, says well, "The man who does not quarrel is a bachelor." [In fact], "it is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a contentious woman in a house in common."
Jerome · written before 420 · Against Jovinianus 1.28patristic
Proverbs 25:25-26
Like cold water to a weary soul: l is good news from a distant land" pictures relief across distance, a traveler's report at last arrived. The next verse turns the image dark: "Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked."
Proverbs 25:25
“Just as "waters are pleasant to the thirsty soul," as Scripture says, so to the mind that loves instruction is the life-giving knowledge of the mysteries of our Savior. Let us, therefore, draw from the sacred springs the living and life-giving waters, even those that are rational and spiritual. Let us take our fill, and weary not in the drinking; for in these things more than enough is still for edification, and greediness is great praise.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on Luke, Homily 65patristic
Like a muddied spring or a polluted well: The righteous man is meant to be a clear spring. Albert Barnes reads the giving way as yielding and cringing, as grievous as a traveler finding the spring he hoped to drink from muddied. Verse 25 pictured cold water to a weary soul, and this verse fouls that same water.
Proverbs 25:26
“Falling down before - i. e., Yielding and cringing. To see this instead of stedfastness, is as grievous as for the traveler to find the spring at which he hoped to quench his thirst turbid and defiled.”
Proverbs 25:27-28
It is not good to eat too much honey: y or to search out one’s own glory" extends the chapter's honey image. "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper." A man with no inward government lies open to any raider.
Proverbs 25:27
“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.”
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 25:27
“Satiety surfeits (Pr 25:16); so men who are self-glorious find shame. is not glory--"not" is supplied from the first clause, or "is grievous," in which sense a similar word is used (Pr 27:2).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Like a city whose walls are broken down: A city with broken walls lies open to every raider, and a man with no control of his temper lies open. John Cassian quotes an old form of the line about a man who acts without counsel. He applies the broken walls to the monk who lacks counsel.
Proverbs 25:28
“And again "like a city that has its walls destroyed and is not fenced in, so is a man who does anything without counsel." And how injurious the absence of this is to a monk, the illustration and figure in the passage quoted shows, by comparing it to a city that is destroyed and without walls. Herein lies wisdom, herein lies intelligence and understanding without which our inward house cannot be built, nor can spiritual riches be gathered together, as it is said: "A house is built with wisdom, and again it is set up with intelligence.”
John Cassian · written before 435 · CONFERENCE 2:4patristic
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 2:4; John Gill and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.