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26 A trampled fountain or a polluted spring—[a]
    a just person fallen before the wicked.
27 To eat too much honey is not good;
    nor to seek honor after honor.[b]
28 A city breached and left defenseless
    are those who do not control their temper.

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Footnotes

  1. 25:26 “Spring” is a common metaphor for source. The righteous should be a source of life for others. When they fail, it is as if a spring became foul and its water undrinkable. It is not clear whether the righteous person yielded to a scoundrel out of cowardice or was simply defeated by evil. The latter seems more likely, for other proverbs say the just person will never “fall” (lit., “be moved,” 10:30; 12:3). The fall, even temporary, of a righteous person is a loss of life for others.
  2. 25:27 Nor…honor: the text is uncertain.