Proverbs 25:2
New International Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

New Living Translation
It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

English Standard Version
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

Berean Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

King James Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

New King James Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

New American Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

NASB 1995
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

NASB 1977
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Legacy Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Amplified Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Christian Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

American Standard Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
It is the glory of God that hides the word, and the glory of the King that seeks for the word.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The glory of God conceals a matter: but the glory of a king honours business.

Contemporary English Version
God is praised for being mysterious; rulers are praised for explaining mysteries.

Douay-Rheims Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of kings to search out the speech.

English Revised Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It is the glory of God to hide things but the glory of kings to investigate them.

Good News Translation
We honor God for what he conceals; we honor kings for what they explain.

International Standard Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

JPS Tanakh 1917
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Literal Standard Version
The glory of God [is] to hide a thing, | And the glory of kings [is] to search out a matter.

Majority Standard Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

New American Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to fathom a matter.

NET Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of a king to search out a matter.

New Revised Standard Version
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

New Heart English Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Webster's Bible Translation
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

World English Bible
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Young's Literal Translation
The honour of God is to hide a thing, And the honour of kings to search out a matter.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
More Proverbs of Solomon
1These are additional proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah: 2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out. 3As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be searched.…

Cross References
Romans 11:33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

Ezra 6:1
Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

Proverbs 25:3
As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be searched.


Treasury of Scripture

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

the glory

Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Job 11:7,8
Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? …

Job 38:4
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

the honour

1 Kings 3:9-28
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? …

1 Kings 4:29-34
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore…

Ezra 4:15,19
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed…

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Proverbs 25
1. observations about kings
8. and about avoiding causes of quarrels














(2) It is the glory of God to conceal a thing.--For the more we search into the mysteries of nature or revelation, the more do we discover depths of which we had no idea before. God has so ordered things that man may not presume to measure himself with his Maker, but may recognise his own insignificance. (Comp. Romans 11:33, ff.)

But the honour of kings is to search out a matter.--To see their way through political difficulties, and to unmask crime and fraud.

Verses 2-7. - Proverbs concerning kings. Verse 2. - It is the glory of God to conceal a thing. That which is the chief glory of God is his mysteriousness, the unfathomable character of his nature and attributes and doings. The more we search into these matters, the more complete we find our ignorance to be; finite faculties are utterly unable to comprehend the infinite; they can embrace merely what God chooses to reveal. "Secret things belong unto the Lord our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29), and the great prophet, favoured with Divine revelations, can only confess, "Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself" Isaiah 45:15; comp Ecclesiastes 8:17; Romans 11:33, etc.). But the honour of kings is to search out a matter. The same word is used for "glory" and "honour" in both clauses, and ought to have been rendered similarly. It is the king's glory to execute justice and to defend the rights and safety of his people. To do this effectually he must investigate matters brought before him, look keenly into political difficulties, get to the bottom of all complications, and watch against possible dangers. The contrast between the glory of God and that of the king lies in this - that whereas both God and the king desire man's welfare, the former promotes this by making him feel his ignorance and littleness and entire dependence upon this mysterious Being whose nature and designs mortals cannot understand; the latter advances the good of his subjects by giving them confidence in his zeal and power to discover truth, and using his knowledge for their benefit. Septuagint, "The glory of God concealeth a word (λόγον): but the glory of a king honoureth matters (πράγματα)."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
It is the glory
כְּבֹ֣ד (kə·ḇōḏ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3519: Weight, splendor, copiousness

of God
אֱ֭לֹהִים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

to conceal
הַסְתֵּ֣ר (has·têr)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5641: To hide, conceal

a matter
דָּבָ֑ר (dā·ḇār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

and the glory
וּכְבֹ֥ד (ū·ḵə·ḇōḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3519: Weight, splendor, copiousness

of kings
מְ֝לָכִ֗ים (mə·lā·ḵîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4428: A king

to search it out.
חֲקֹ֣ר (ḥă·qōr)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2713: To penetrate, to examine intimately


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God (Prov. Pro Pr)
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