Proverbs 25:6-24

⁶Do not take glory for yourself before the king, and do not put yourself in the place of the great:

⁷For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler.

⁸Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame?

⁹Have a talk with your neighbour himself about your cause, but do not give away the secret of another:

¹⁰Or your hearer may say evil of you, and your shame will not be turned away.

¹¹A word at the right time is like apples of gold in a network of silver.

¹²Like a nose-ring of gold and an ornament of the best gold, is a wise man who says sharp words to an ear ready to give attention.

¹³As the cold of snow in the time of grain-cutting, so is a true servant to those who send him; for he gives new life to the soul of his master.

¹⁴As clouds and wind without rain, so is one who takes credit for an offering he has not given.

¹⁵A judge is moved by one who for a long time undergoes wrongs without protest, and by a soft tongue even bone is broken.

¹⁶If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.

¹⁷Let not your foot be frequently in your neighbour's house, or he may get tired of you, and his feeling be turned to hate.

¹⁸One who gives false witness against his neighbour is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Putting one's faith in a false man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a shaking foot.

²⁰Like one who takes off clothing in cold weather and like acid on a wound, is he who makes melody to a sad heart.

²¹If your hater is in need of food, give him bread; and if he is in need of drink, give him water:

²²For so you will put coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will give you your reward.

²³As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.

²⁴It is better to be living in an angle of the house-top, than with a bitter-tongued woman in a wide house.