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Proverbs 25:27

in Proverbs 25

It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

It is not good to eat much honey; So for men to search out their own glory is grievous.

KJV

It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

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This verse in Proverbs 25

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

It is not good to eat too much honey

on Proverbs 25:27-28

"It is not good to eat too much honey 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.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Proverbs · Written before 735.

proposed

"As he who eats much honey," etc. For the sweetness of honey, if more than is necessary is consumed, where the mouth delights, from there the life of the eater is harmed. Sweet also is the inquiry of majesty; but he who seeks this more …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

It is not good to eat much honey,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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).

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

It is not good to eat much honey - Coverdale 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.

The words behind it

8 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • אָ֘כֹ֤לto eat

    ʾakholH398 →810 times

  • דְּבַ֣שׁhoney

    devashH1706 →54 times

  • הַרְבּ֣וֹתmuch

    harbotH7235 →227 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • ט֑וֹב[is] good

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • וְחֵ֖קֶרand [the] search of

    vechekerH2714 →

  • כְּבֹדָ֣םown honor their

    kevodamH3519 →200 times

  • כָּבֽוֹד׃[is] an honor

    kavodH3519 →200 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

15 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 27:2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.15 works2 Corinthians 10:12We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance.11 worksProverbs 25:16If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.8 worksJohn 8:54Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’7 worksProverbs 25:6Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men;7 worksJohn 5:44How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?6 works
The other 9 cross-references, with their words ▾
John 7:18He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is a man of truth; in Him there is no falsehood.6 works2 Corinthians 11:30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.5 worksPhilippians 2:3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.3 worksLeviticus 2:11No grain offering that you present to the LORD may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as an offering made by fire to the LORD.3 works2 Corinthians 12:1I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.2 works2 Corinthians 12:11I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.2 works1 Thessalonians 2:6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.2 worksProverbs 24:13Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.1 worksRomans 12:3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Philippians 2:3

    Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

    it leads to

    • Romans 12:10

      Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

    • Galatians 5:26

      Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

    • Ephesians 5:21

      Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

    • Ephesians 4:2

      with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

    • 1 Peter 5:5

      Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

  • Through

    John 5:44

    How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

    it leads to

    • John 12:43

      For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

    • Romans 2:29

      No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come…

  • Through

    Proverbs 27:2

    Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 10:18

      For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Where this verse is studied

About Proverbs

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 25 →

This page draws on 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 25 →