Proverbs Chapter 25 verse 3 Holy Bible
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
read chapter 25 in ASV
The heaven is high and the earth is deep, and the hearts of kings may not be searched out.
read chapter 25 in BBE
The heavens for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
read chapter 25 in DARBY
The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
read chapter 25 in KJV
read chapter 25 in WBT
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, So the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
read chapter 25 in WEB
The heavens for height, and the earth for depth, And the heart of kings -- `are' unsearchable.
read chapter 25 in YLT
Proverbs 25 : 3 Bible Verse Songs
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - This proverb is connected with the preceding by the idea of "searching" (chakar) common to both. Such emblematic proverbs are common in this second collection (see Ver. 11). Three subjects are stated, of which is predicated the term unsearchable, viz. The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings. As you can never rise to the illimitable height of the heavens, as you can never penetrate to the immeasurable depth of the earth, so you can never fathom the heart of a king, can never find out what he really thinks and intends (comp. Job 11:8). It may be that tacitly a warning is intended against flattering one's sell that one knows and can reckon on the favour of a king; his good disposition towards you may be only seeming, or may any moment become changed. The Septuagint has for "unsearchable" (חֵקֶר אֵין) ἀνεξέλεγκτος, "unquestionable." The commentators refer to a passage in Tacitus ('Ann.' 6:8), where M. Terentius defends himself for being a friend of Sejanus by the fact of the impossibility of investigating a great man's real sentiments. "To us," he says to Tiberius, "it appertains not to judge whom you exalt above all others and for what reason you do so. Facts which are obvious we all notice. We see who is the man upon whom you heap wealth and honours, who it is that has the chief power of dispensing rewards and punishments; that these were possessed by Sejanus no one can deny. But to pry into the hidden thoughts of a prince, and the designs which he meditates in secret, is unlawful and hazardous; nor would the attempt succeed."
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) The heart of kings is unsearchable.--A warning, it may be, against presuming upon the favour of a king from thinking that one knows all that is in his mind. (Comp. Proverbs 23:1-2.)
