Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both.
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s vexation is heavier than them both.
4 Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?
Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love.
Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden.
6 The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.
The full soul loatheth an honeycomb: but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place.
As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9 Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul.
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend [that cometh] of hearty counsel.
10 Do not dismiss your friend or your father’s friend. And do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother.
Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; and go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
11 My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12 The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.
A prudent man seeth the evil, [and] hideth himself: [but] the simple pass on, [and] suffer for it.
13 Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and hold him in pledge [that is surety] for a strange woman.
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.
A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike:
16 He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand.
He that would restrain her restraineth the wind, and his right hand encountereth oil.
17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof; and he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19 In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent.
As in water face [answereth] to face, so the heart of man to man.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and the eyes of man are never satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge.
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is [tried] by his praise.
22 Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him.
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among bruised corn, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds:
24 for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.
For riches are not for ever; and doth the crown endure unto all generations?
25 The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.
The hay is carried, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
26 Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.
The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field:
27 Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.
And [there will be] goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household; and maintenance for thy maidens.
