25:1–7b Verse 1 introduces the fifth collection in Proverbs, naming the “men of Hezekiah” as copyists, or perhaps collectors, of Solomon’s sayings. (The Hebrew word describing their action is too vague for us to know exactly what they did. Suffice it to say that proverbs were a major concern of the ancient royal courts.)

Kings are, in fact, the clear focus of this opening section, being mentioned in every saying in verses 1–7 and then not again until 29:4.177 As in 16:1–15, the king is understood in relationship to God (25:2), and here each has his own glory: God’s is to hide things and kings’ is to seek them out (v. 2; cf. Deut. 29:29; Rom. 11:33–34). The verse is a window into our role as those made in God’s image, as discussed at Proverbs 24:3–4. God has created a world full of design and wonder, and he calls us to seek out its order and meaning and to recognize the limits of what we will find in our search (cf. 28:11; Job 28:1–28). The saying also stands as a striking contrast to Proverbs 25:27. Taking these two sayings together, we might say that it is a “glory” to seek, but we may not seek our own “glory.”

Verse 3 uses the same verb for “search” in verse 2 to describe the “heart of kings” as “unsearchable” (cf. 21:1). There is an ambiguity in the saying that plays out in two possible ways. First, kings must be on guard against their own subconscious intentions and desires (cf. 20:5; 1 Cor. 2:11). But, second, those who stand before kings should not underestimate the dangers of dealing with those in power (cf. Prov. 16:14; 20:2; 25:15).

Verses 4–5 compare a kingdom to a smelter for purifying silver (cf. 20:8). The prophets use the same refining metaphor for spiritual holiness (e.g., Ezek. 22:18; Mal. 3:3), and it is common to oppose these two dimensions of life—the political as against, or completely separate from, the spiritual. Theologically speaking, there is an important relationship between the two. God never desired Israel’s holiness as some abstract state of being but decreed it as a way of living bodily and publicly before his presence such that Israel’s holiness ripples out in actions of mercy and justice in the world (Prov. 21:3; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 12:7). We also find holiness and politics ordered together in the two opening psalms. Psalm 1 imagines a holy individual as delighting in God’s law (God’s community-ordering wisdom), while Psalm 2 threatens judgment upon political authorities who fail to bring mercy to the community (and thus reject God’s law).

The saying above might have been written partly as a word of caution to those who serve in the royal courts, that they be careful not to be drawn in by the trappings of wealth and great shows of religious ritual (cf. 1 Kings 8–11). Proverbs 25:6–7b now addresses political servants directly. The king resides in a pressure cooker fed by power, threats, and temptations. When he acts, he often does not even know his own motives (v. 3), and so it would be better to choose a low profile and be invited into the king’s presence than to succor up too close and pay a price. (The Response section discusses further this principle of knowing one’s place.)

25:7c–10 As does the ESV, most translations and interpreters place verse 7c (“what your eyes have seen”) at the beginning of verse 8.178 The lesson in this section through verse 10 is not far from the one before it, which advised being circumspect before rulers. The same judicious approach can be applied in two ways to involvement before judges and courts. First, one should be slow to assume that his perception (“what your eyes have seen”) is the best account of the true nature of things, since everyone inevitably sees the world through a narrow perspective. Sometimes people are prone to what is called “recency bias,” giving too much weight to their most recent experiences. At other times people lean toward “intensity bias,” making judgments based on the magnitude with which something had impacted them. These tendencies do not in the least mean that truth is helplessly relative. Thousands of years ago the Bible recognized the limits of individual perceptions of knowledge (e.g., 26:12; 30:1–3). But, rather than throwing up our hands and crying “relativism,” we are cautioned to recognize our place and our limits, pausing before we judge or speak.

Second, given our tendency toward bias, we ought to be slow on our way to court to resolve arguments with neighbors (25:9–10). Jesus makes this same point, perhaps inspired by this proverb, encouraging believers to settle things in private, involving the fewest people necessary (Matt. 18:15–19; cf. 1 Cor. 6:1).

According to this chapter, both situations—positioning oneself in the community and resolving conflicts—require careful judgment to avoid “shame” and “ill repute” that might otherwise result. One’s public standing is a major concern in the Psalms as well (e.g., Pss. 22:5; 25:2–3, 20; 31:1, 17; 71:1; 119:6, 31; etc.). The relevance of these concerns should not be overlooked in a world consumed by concern for one’s ongoing public reception in the digital world. In contrast to the façades we put all around us, OT poetry seeks to protect us not with better profiles but with prayer, wisdom, and obedience to God’s law.

25:11–15 These verses address various types of wise speech: prudent, powerful, timely, encouraging, and the like. The first four verses also contain the conspicuous reversal of the typical proverb form, Topic-Comment, to the more puzzling order of Comment-Topic. Most translations override the proverbial form in the Hebrew and give it back to us in the form we most expect (the ESV does this only with Prov. 25:11). The final result closes down a riddle that would otherwise be an opening up of thought and possibility.

For example, verse 11 starts with the Comment “Like apples of gold in a setting of silver . . . ,” which leads us to ask, “What is like apples of gold in silver?”—for it could be many things. This process of exploring a metaphor in search of patterns and structures in the world is a discipline at the heart of getting wisdom. The comparison in verse 11 is of a word spoken at the right time; its idea of “fittingness” is central to the following verses and especially to 26:1–12.

The ESV of verse 12 retains the riddle form of Comment-Topic. The lesson is a variant of the previous one—wise speech is given at the right time and to the right person.

The third saying (v. 13) imagines a word of good news as snow falling in the heat of the harvest (cf. 13:17). The intense image of pleasure here will be matched by sayings of intense pain in verses that follow.

Proverbs 25:14 is the only negative saying, chastising the one who boasts of promises that do not come to pass (cf. 20:6; Jer. 5:13). Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth constantly challenge its love of boasting and of boastful leaders. Paul turns this around to say, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). Paul has come to them as a servant and “fool” for Christ—a boast the exposes the arrogance and self-interest of his opponents.

The final saying about speech presents a “patience” and “soft tongue” that can “break a bone.” The oxymoron turns what is gentle into a physically painful image, the same move seen in Proverbs 25:21–22. Irony, riddles, and surprise are everywhere in this chapter, often using painful metaphors to commend good actions.

25:16–22 This group of sayings is bordered on each end by the verb “eat” (vv. 16, 21) and the Hebrew word saneʾ, translated “hate” (v. 17) and “enemy” (v. 21). This is also the densest collection of sayings that express extreme pain (cf. Response section).

The pair in verses 16–17 has two warnings pivoting on the word “lest,” which connects an action with an undesired consequence of “having a fill.” The first warning pictures the gluttonous person who vomits up a hasty binge. The saying is modified slightly and applied to one who seeks too much “glory” in verse 27. The second warning cautions the extroverted and overly social person: your friends may end up hating you if you cannot leave them alone. The present culture is at far less risk of crowding one another physically, but we may be worse off with our around-the-clock presence on social media. We must allow our neighbors some space.

The next five verses (vv. 18–22) begin with three sayings and end with an admonition. Each of the verses is combined with metaphors imagining intense pain and violence. In terms of form, the first two sayings are Comment-Topic and the second Topic-Comment. To the trained scribe and the careful reader this is a feast for the eyes.

Translated baldly, the first half of verse 18 reads, “Club, and sword, and sharp arrow . . .” This violent imagery cannot help but to make the reader wonder what might be coming next. Bearing false witness may seem to be a disappointing comparison. But this is the point; with our attention captured by the opening salvo, we cannot help but relearn a lesson otherwise overlooked.

The beginning of the Hebrew of verse 19 arrests our attention once more: “An evil tooth and unreliable footing . . .” When we lean upon a “treacherous” person at a distressing time, we trust something inherently untrustworthy. The pain and danger in the metaphors emphasize the undesired consequences of our error.

The beginning of verse 20 is difficult to translate. Taking a garment in the cold is straightforward, but it is not clear whether the second image is of “vinegar on soda” (ESV) or “vinegar on a wound” (RSV); the Hebrew nater could be translated either way. If we go with “soda” in the ESV, we have the only image in these five verses that does not imagine physical pain. That is certainly possible, and the point comes through in any case: singing lighthearted songs to a troubled person is anything but calming or comforting.

Verses 21–22 close this group with a rather shocking admonition: providing for the needs of one’s enemy will result in his suffering and one’s own favor in the Lord’s eyes. Can this really be the correct meaning? Interpreters generally try to avoid this more straightforward reading, since Proverbs elsewhere warns us against taking pleasure in the suffering of others (e.g., 24:17). These “burning coals” could be a metaphor for the way shame is experienced, with blood rushing to the face and making one feel warm—in this case kindness brings shame to one’s enemies. Alternatively, the hot coals might be a subtle way of judging one’s own feelings about the enemies (i.e., the desire to punish them). The saying then carefully replaces the impulse of anger with something befitting the actions of the righteous—generosity (cf. 3:27–29).

25:23–24 These verses vaguely resemble the sections before and below after. Each verse imagines unpleasant types of people, and it may very well be that pain and discomfort stand as the broader concerns that hold the second half of this chapter together. The first saying (v. 23) compares an angry and vengeful person to painfully cold and wet weather. It is certainly worth noting that verses 18–20 above combine cold weather with undesirable persons.

Verse 24 is one of four variant sayings in Proverbs (19:13; 21:9; 27:15). Some might be tempted to object to the wisdom on offer here, but a nagging and contentious wife is a real thing, and it is not pleasant for anyone to be in her vicinity, thus sending the rest of the family to the corner of the rooftop for relief. Proverbs takes aim far more often at corrupt kings, lazy young men, unjust judges, and countless other vocations that were predominantly masculine.

25:25–28 The chapter ends with four sayings about things that do or do not fit. The topic of fittingness is the dominant theme in chapter 26 and is discussed further there.

Proverbs 25:25 recognizes the joy of good news that comes from a distant land. It is a concept perhaps not easily understood today, where “news” rarely means important or encouraging information. In fact, news has become a burden: we must check feeds and websites and updates to stay tuned into a rapidly changing stream of information that has no central hub, no ordering nature that allows us to process it in the interest of understanding. Most of this is then quickly discarded from our minds to make room for the next in line. By contrast, truly good news is that rare word that promises a long-awaited hope.

Verse 26 introduces one of the many weather metaphors in this section of Proverbs (vv. 13–14, 20, 23; 26:1; 27:15–16). Like good news (25:25), fresh water was a prized rare treat (cf. 5:15–18; Ezek. 34:18–19). The disappointment in spoiling such a gift compares to righteous ones’ failure to stand up to the wicked.

Proverbs 25:27 repeats an earlier warning to the sweet-toothed honey-lover in verse 16. Like all the goods of creation, honey is a gift in the right measure (cf. 16:24; 24:13). But, as with other goods of creation such as food, sex, alcohol, and knowledge, wisdom guides us on the path between too much and none at all.

The closing saying about self-control in 25:28 may very well be a summary of the chapter. Kings should search for wisdom, not glory. One must not seat oneself too high as a guest, must speak the right word at the right time, and must enjoy the sweetness of honey, but only so much. These are lessons we all know, often through failure, but the writer forces home the lesson with the image of a vulnerable city whose walls are in disrepair. Thus is it is with life and virtue when one fails to observe wise barriers.