Proverbs 25:5

Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
– Proverbs 25:5

The word for take away means to remove, and it begins both verse 4 and verse 5. Removing the dross from silver in the previous verse results in a pure and valuable vessel. Likewise, removing wicked counselors from before the king results in an established throne (Proverbs 16:12; 20:28; 29:14). The implication of the verse is that wicked counselors will ruin the righteousness of a rule by perverting justice in one way or another. Wisdom teaches the necessity of wise counselors (Proverbs 15:22; 20:18), but also warns against wicked counsel (Proverbs 12:3, 19).

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