Proverbs 25:6

Pro 25:6 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great [men]:

Ver. 6. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king.] Ne te ornes coram reqe. Compare not, vie not with him in apparel, furniture, house keeping, &c., as the Hebrews sense it. This was the ruin of Cardinal Wolsey, and of Viscount Verulam.

And stand not in the place of great men.] Exalt not thyself, but wait till God shall reach out the hand from heaven and raise thee. {Psa 75:5-8} Adonijah is branded for this, that he exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." {1Ki 1:5} When none else would lift Hildebrand up into Peter’s chair, he got up himself: ‘for who,’ said he, ‘can better judge of my worth than I can?’ ‘Harden thy forehead,’ said Calvus to Vatinius, ‘and say boldly, that thou deservest the praetorship better than Cato.’ {a} Ambition rides without reins, as Tullia did over the dead body of her own father, to be made a queen. See my Common Place of Ambition.

{a} Quintil., lib. ix. cap. 2.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 25:6-7. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king — Hebrew, אל תתהדר, do not magnify, or glorify thyself, before the king; namely, by vaunting or vain-glorious speech, or behaviour; but, which is implied, conduct thyself in an humble and modest manner, which is most pleasing to kings, princes, and other superiors, and most becoming and safe for thee; and stand not in the place of great men — Do not affect frequent and familiar society with greater persons than thyself; much less intrude thyself into places where none but the great officers or nobles ought to come. For better is it — It is more for thy credit and comfort; that it be said unto thee — By some public officer, or by the king himself, Come up hither — To a higher place, to which, of thyself, thou didst not dare to presume to go; than that thou shouldest be put lower — Shouldest have a check given thee for thy forwardness; in the presence of the prince, &c. — Into whose presence thou hadst so boldly intruded thyself, and who, as before he observed thy impudence, so now he sees and suffers this public disgrace to be cast upon thee.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Pro_25:6. Put not forth, literally “bring not thy glory to view, do not display thyself.”

Pro_25:7. Whom thine eyes have seen. There is some difference of opinion as to the person to whom this sentence refers. Fleischer understands it as referring to the king, and to the additional humiliation felt when it comes upon one who has pressed so far forward that he can be perceived by the king. Delitzsch refers it not specially to the king, but to “any distinguished personage whose place he who has pressed forward has taken up, and from which he must now withdraw when the right possessor of it comes and lays claim to his place.… Thine eyes have seen him in the company, and thou canst say to thyself, this place belongs to him, according to his rank, and not to thee; the humiliation which thou endurest is thus well deserved, because, with eyes to see, thou wert so blind.” (Delitzsch).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_25:6-7

SELF-PROMOTION

I. A wise man will let others judge of his qualifications for a high place or position. Men who consult their happiness and reputation are not so anxious to rise in the world as they are to qualify themselves for rising. A wise man knows well that it is not merely the position he occupies which raises him in the estimation of others, but the ability which he shows to fill the post, and the fitness which men recognise as existing between him and his high place. He has no desire to step into a position which he could not fill with some credit to himself and advantage to others, knowing well that he would then be like the jackdaw in the peacock’s borrowed plumes, an object of derision to all beholders. He would rather occupy a low place with abilities to fill a higher, than be in one which was above his abilities, and he therefore gladly leaves the question of his social advancement in the hands of others.

II. Self-promotion is not likely to result in satisfaction to the only actor in the transaction.

1. It is generally short-lived. If a man is really fit for advancement, some one or some number of people are generally to be found to say to him, “Friend, go up higher.” The interests of men in general, are concerned in having the best men in the foremost places; and such men, in the end, are generally placed in them by common consent. But when a man without this call steps into a place of honour, it is very common for others to resent his self-conceit, and to call upon him to give place to a more worthy person. And so his self-constituted triumph is soon over.

2. It often ends in humiliation. It is hard to be obliged to take a lower place under any circumstances, but when we are thus retracing steps which our self-esteem alone prompted us to take, the chagrin is great indeed. And as the ascent in such a case is generally made before the eyes of many onlookers, so the descent will be equally public, and this adds much to the disappointment and the shame.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

Ambition is to the mind what the cap is to the falcon, it first blinds us, and then compels us to lower by reason of our blindness.—E. Cook.

Now, it is not a little said in praise of him to whom it is said, “Come up higher.” For, first, it showeth his modest humility, which is the praise of all other virtues. Secondly, it showeth the worth of his quality, which deserveth advancement. Thirdly, it showeth that to be due unto him which is bestowed upon him. On the other side, it is not a little reproach unto him that is put lower. For, first, his pride is objected to him; the overthrow of all that is praiseworthy. Secondly, his unworthiness is rejected with an upbraiding of it. Thirdly, the due punishment of being placed lower is justly inflicted.… And as if he were one unworthy for the prince to look upon, it is not said, by whom thou art seen, but whom thine eyes have seen, as noting also the proud presumption of the unworthy intruder. Jermin.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

(Pro 25:6-7 quoted in the NT: Luk 14:8-10 )

Our Lord applies this proverb more generally. (Luk 14:8-11 .) Who needs not this caution against ambition? Even godly Baruch seems to have "sought great things for himself." (Jer 45:5 .) Not even the fellowship of the Savior, his heavenly instruction, his divine pattern of holiness (Mat 11:29 ), could restrain the "strife among the disciples — Who should be the greatest;"†1 repeated even after the most wondrous exhibition of humility;†2 nay, after they had just partaken with him of the holy feast.†3 "Loving to have the pre-eminence," is the bane of godliness in the Church.†4

Wolsey’s fall is an instructive beacon to ambitious men, not to put forth themselves to set out their glory in the presence of the king.†5 The usurpation also of the place of great men usually subjects man to be put lower, to his own mortification. Not that we would discountenance fit and able men from putting themselves forward in public responsibilities. But the eagerness for the outward name, with a manifest incapacity for the discharge of the work, is strongly censurable. "Before honor is humility" (Pro 18:12 ); shewn in a backwardness to obtrude either our presence or our opinion upon those in higher stations; shrinking from external respect, rather than courting the "vain show." Thus were Gideon,†6 Saul in his early and better days,†7 and David, advanced to honor.†8

Let each of us lay himself to the work of casting down our high tower of conceit; cultivating a deep sense of our utter worthlessness, and carefully pondering that example, which is at once our pattern and our principle. Oh! think of Him, who was "fairer than man," being the most humble of men — nay — of Him, who was infinitely more than man, making himself "a worm, and no man."†9 Think of that day, which will set us all on our own true base; when each of us shall stand before "the Great Prince" (Rev 1:5 ), just that, and that only, which he counts us to be? What will it be to be put lower; to be utterly cast out in his presence, whom our eyes shall then see to our eternal confusion! (Rev 1:7 .)

Footnotes:

†1 Mat 18:1-4.

†2 Joh 13:1-15.

†3 Luk 22:19-27.

†4 3Jn 1:9-10 .

†5 Compare Sir 7:4 . The poet elegantly contrasts Dædalus and Icarus — father and son, both provided with wings. The father, contenting himself with skimming the ground, was safe. The son, soaring aloft, perished. Hence a lesson of humility. Ovid, Trist. lib. iii. el. ii. 21.

†6 Jdg 6:15.

†7 1Sa 9:21-22 ; 1Sa 15:17 .

†8 1Sa 18:18 . Compare Psa 131:1 .

†9 Psa 45:2, with Psa 22:6 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25:6-7 To gain an audience with the king, a wise person will practice humility instead of pride (cp. Matt 20:20-28).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Here we see, 1. That religion is so far from destroying good manners that it reaches us to behave ourselves lowly and reverently towards our superiors, to keep our distance, and give place to those to whom it belongs "Put not forth thyself rudely and carelessly in the king's presence, or in the presence of great men; do not compare with them" (so some understand it); "do not vie with them in apparel, furniture, gardens, house-keeping, or retinue, for that is an affront to them and will waste thy own estate." 2. That religion teaches us humility and self-denial, which is a better lesson than that of good manners: "Deny thyself the place thou art entitled to; covet not to make a fair show, nor air at preferment, nor thrust thyself into the company of those that are above thee; be content in a low sphere if that is it which God has allotted to thee." The reason he gives is because this is really the way to advancement, as our Saviour shows in a parable that seems to be borrowed from this, Luk 14:9. Not that we must therefore pretend modesty and humility, and make a stratagem of it, for the courting of honour, but therefore we must really be modest and humble, because God will put honour on such and so will men too. It is better, more for a man's satisfaction and reputation, to be advanced above his pretensions and expectations, than to be thrust down below them, in the presence of the prince, whom it was a great piece of honour to be admitted to the sight of and a great piece of presumption to look upon without leave.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Do not intrude into the presence of the king, for the elevation of the humble is honorable, but the humbling of the proud disgraceful (Luk 14:8-10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

6. Put not forth thyself] Better, Put not thyself forward, R.V.; Heb., Glorify not thyself; μὴ ἀλαζονεύου, LXX.; ne gloriosus appareas, Vulg.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king,.... Intrude not thyself into his presence; or rush not into it in a rude and irreverent way; or be not ambitious to be a courtier: or "do not appear glorious", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; or "honour thyself" (a) as the word signifies; do not appear too gay at court, or make too splendid an appearance, above thy fortune and station; and which may seem to vie with and outdo the king himself, which will not be well taken; princes love not to be equalled, and much less excelled;

and stand not in the place of great men; where the king's family or his nobles should stand, his ministers and counsellors of state, and those that wait upon him.

(a) "ne tibi assumas honorem", Cocceius; "ne honores teipsum", Michaelis; "ne magnificum te facias", Schultens; "ne magnifices te", Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Glorious, or a boaster. (Haydock) --- We must not seek the first places, Luke xiv. 10. Vive sine invidia, mollesque inglorius annos

Exige; amicitias et tibi junge pares. (Ovid, Trist. iii. 4.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Put not forth thyself, Heb. Do not magnify or glorify thyself, by vaunting speech or carriage, but, which is implied, carry thyself humbly and modestly, which is most pleasing to kings, and most becoming and safe for them.

Stand not in the place of great men; do not affect nor use frequent and familiar society with greater persons than thyself, whereby thou mayst easily involve thyself in much guilt, and expose thyself to envy or contempt, and to many other inconveniences.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6, 7. Put not forth thyself — The meaning is, “Do not bear thyself proudly.” — Conant. Do not make a display. “Spread not thyself” (Miller) before the king, to attract his attention, nor intrude among those of high rank. It is better to be exalted to a place thou hast not sought, than to be degraded from one into which thou hast pushed thyself. A good proverb for aspirants after office, whether in Church or State. Comp. Luk_14:8-10; Mat_23:12.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 6, 7. Another proverb (a pentastich) connected with kings and great men.

Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king. Do not make display of yourself as though vying with the king in outward circumstances. Septuagint, "Boast not thyself (mh alazoneuon ) in the presence of a king." Stand not in the place of great men. Do not pretend to be the equal of those who occupy high places in the kingdom. (Pro_18:16) Septuagint, "And take not your stand (ufistaso ) in the places of chieftains." Says a Latin gnome, "Qui cum fortuna convenit, dives est;" and Ovid wrote well ("Trist.," 3:4. 25, etc.)"Crede mihi; bene qui latuit, bene vixit; et intra Fortunam debet quisque manere suam... Tu quoque formida nimium sublimia semper; Propositique memor contrahe vela tui.

Vers. 6, 7. A lesson in courtly manners.

Nothing in conduct is unimportant. Fitting and graceful manners are those which become our station in life. Here the relations to our superiors are touched upon.

I WE SHOULD KNOW OUR PLACE, AND NOT STEP OUT OF IT. (Ver. 6) As the Arabic proverb finely says," Sit in thy place, and no man can make thee rise." "All that good manners demand," says a great writer," is composure and self-content." We may add to this "an equal willingness to allow the social claims of others as to rely upon our own." Self-respect is complemented by deference. We need a ready perception of worth and beauty in our companions. If it is folly to refuse respect to admitted external rank, much more to the native rank of the soul.

II WE SHOULD ASSUME THE LOWEST RATHER THAN THE HIGHEST PLACE. (Ver. 7) The lesson runs all through life, from the outward to the inward and the spiritual. (see Luk_14:8-11) Comme il faut we must be is the Frenchman"s description of good society." The lesson is mainly against presumption in any and all of its forms, an offence hateful to man and God. To take the lowly place in religion here becomes us, and it leads to exaltation; to grasp at more than our due is to lose all and earn our condemnation. Christianity has a deep relation to manners. There is nothing so beautiful as the code of manners given in the New Testament. "How near to good is what is fair! Which we no sooner see, But with the lines and outward air, Our senses taken be.

Vers. 6, 7. Modesty and self-assertion.

Some amount of self-assertion is no doubt necessary for honourable success and fruitful achievement. But nothing is more common than for this quality to go beyond its true limit and become distasteful and even offensive both to God and man. What Solomon here deprecates, our Lord also condemns; what he honours, the Divine Teacher also prefers. (see Luk_14:9)

I THE DANGER OF SELF-ASSERTION. Its temptation is to assume such proportions that

(1) it becomes immodesty, and this is a positive evil, a blemish in character, and a blot upon the life; and

(2) it defeats its own ends, for it provokes antagonism and is discomfited and dishonoured. Every one is pleased when the presumptuous man is humiliated.

II THE PREFERENCE OF MODESTY.

1. It is frequently successful. Modesty commends us to the good; we secure their good will; they are inclined to help us and to further our desires; they promote our prosperity. Every one is gratified when the man who "does not think more highly of himself than he ought to think" is the object of esteem, and takes the place of honour.

2. It is always beautiful. It is quite possible that, as a matter of worldly policy, modesty may not "answer." It may be, it will often happen, that a strong complacency and vigorous self-assertion will pass it in the race of life. Yet is it the fitting, the becoming, the beautiful thing. It is an adornment of the soul. (see 1Pe_3:3) It makes the other virtues and graces which are possessed to shine with peculiar lustre. It gives attractiveness to Christian character and lends a sweetness and influence which nothing else could confer. To be lowly minded is a far better portion than to have the gains and honours which an ugly assertiveness may command. (see homily on Luk_14:7-11) C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Stand not - Do not affect frequent and familiar society with greater persons than thyself.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

There now follows a second proverb with מלך, as the one just explained was a second with מלכים: a warning against arrogance before kings and nobles.

6 Display not thyself before the king,

And approach not to the place of the great.

7 For better than one say to thee, "Come up hither,"

Than that they humble thee before a prince,

Whom thine eyes had seen.

The גּדלים are those, like Pro 18:16, who by virtue of their descent and their office occupy a lofty place of honour in the court and in the state. נדיב (vid., under Pro 8:16) is the noble in disposition and the nobleman by birth, a general designation which comprehends the king and the princes. The Hithpa. התהדּר is like the reflex forms Pro 12:9; Pro 13:7, for it signifies to conduct oneself as הדוּר or נהדּר (vid., Pro 20:29), to play the part of one highly distinguished. עמד has, 6b, its nearest signification: it denotes, not like נצּב, standing still, but approaching to, e.g., Jer 7:2. The reason given in Pro 25:7 harmonizes with the rule of wisdom, Luk 14:10.: better is the saying to thee, i.e., that one say to thee (Ewald, 304b), עלה הנּה (so the Olewejored is to be placed), προσανάβηθι ἀνώτερον (thus in Luke), than that one humble thee לפני נדיב, not: because of a prince (Hitzig), for לפני nowhere means either pro (Pro 17:18) or propter, but before a prince, so that thou must yield to him (cf. Pro 14:19), before him whom thine eyes had seen, so that thou art not excused if thou takest up the place appropriate to him. Most interpreters are at a loss to explain this relative. Luther: "which thine eyes must see," and Schultens: ut videant oculi tui. Michaelis, syntactically admissible: quem videre gestiverunt oculi tui, viz., to come near to him, according to Bertheau, with the request that he receives some high office. Otherwise Fleischer: before the king by whom thou and thine are seen, so much the more felt is the humiliation when it comes upon one after he has pressed so far forward that he can be perceived by the king. But נדיב is not specially the king, but any distinguished personage whose place he who has pressed forward has taken up, and from which he must now withdraw when the right possessor of it comes and lays claim to his place. אשׁר is never used in poetry without emphasis. Elsewhere it is equivalent to נתנש, quippe quem, here equivalent to רפנש, quem quidem. Thine eyes have seen him in the company, and thou canst say to thyself, this place belongs to him, according to his rank, and not to thee - the humiliation which thou endurest is thus well deserved, because, with eyes to see, thou wert so blind. The lxx, Syr., Symmachus (who reads 8a, לרב, εις πλῆθος), and Jerome, refer the words "whom thine eyes had seen" to the proverb following; but אשר does not appropriately belong to the beginning of a proverb, and on the supposition that the word לרב is generally adopted, except by Symmachus, they are also heterogeneous to the following proverb:

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

translationWords

honor

king

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Do not glorify yourself before a king to show your honor and to be proud before one who is greater than you, because it is better that they say to you, “Come up here,” than that you should go without his permission, and they should tell you, “Go down, get out.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.