Proverbs 25:9-28

When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another person’s secret. Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation. Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket. To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry. Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer. They revive the spirit of their employer. A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain. Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones. Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick! Don’t visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome. Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow. Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot. Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound. If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the LORD will reward you. As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger! It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty. If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring. It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself. A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

Free Reading Plans and Devotionals related to Proverbs 25:9-28