To understanda proverband a figure,The wordsof the wiseand their riddles.
I will inclinemy earto a proverb;I will expressmy riddleon the harp.
I will openmy mouthin a parable;I will utterdarksayingsof old,
Thesealsoare sayings of the wise.To showpartialityin judgmentis not good.
The wordsof wisemenare like goads,and mastersof [these] collectionsare like well-drivennails;they are givenby oneShepherd.
"In the latterperiodof their rule,When the transgressorshave run[their course], A kingwill arise,Insolentand skilledin intrigue.
With him I speakmouthto mouth,Even openly,and not in darksayings,And he beholdsthe formof the LORD.Whythen were you not afraidTo speakagainst My servant,against Moses?"
And He was sayingto them, "To you has been giventhe mysteryof the kingdomof God,but thosewho are outsidegeteverythingin parables,
and He did not speakto them withouta parable;but He was explainingeverythingprivatelyto His owndisciples.
But solidfoodis for the mature,who becauseof practicehavetheir sensestrainedto discerngoodand evil.
as alsoin all[his] letters,speakingin them of these things,in whichare some thingshard to understand,whichthe untaughtand unstabledistort,as [they do] alsothe restof the Scriptures,to their owndestruction.
