Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;
- BSB Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men;
- NKJV Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great;
- NASB Do not boast in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the same place as great people;
- NLT Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not push yourself forward or claim status in the king's presence. Humility, not self-promotion, is the wise course.
Overview
This counsels restraint before those in authority, warning against grasping for honor. Together with verse 7 it teaches that true advancement comes from being invited up, not from self-exaltation. Jesus draws directly on this wisdom in his parable about taking the lowest place (Luke 14:8-11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 27:2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
- Prov 16:19Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
- Prov 25:27It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
- Exod 3:11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
- Ps 131:1Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
- 1 Sam 18:18–23And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
- 1 Sam 15:17And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
- Amos 7:12–15Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
- Jer 1:6–10Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
- 1 Sam 9:20–22And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?
- 2 Sam 7:8–17Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 25:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.