How to select top N from a table

Question

I have to select the top 25 records from a table according to the column Num.

There are two issues. First, the table is not sorted by Num.

Answer 1

Depending on the database implementation you're using, it could be using the limit statement (as one other answer suggests) or it could be like this:

SELECT TOP 25 Num, blah, blah ...