Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.
Boast not thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.
Let another 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 [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than they both.
4 Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?
Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who standeth before jealousy?
5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love.
Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.
Faithful are the wounds of a lover, And abundant the kisses of an enemy.
7 A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.
A satiated soul treadeth down a honeycomb, And [to] a 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 wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering 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, And the sweetness of one's friend — from counsel of the soul.
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 the friend of thy father, forsake not, And the house of thy brother enter not In a day of thy calamity, Better [is] a near neighbour than a brother afar off.
11 My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.
Be wise, my son, and rejoice my heart. And I return my reproacher a word.
12 The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.
The prudent hath seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
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, when a stranger hath been surety, And for a strange woman pledge it.
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.
Whoso is saluting his friend with a loud voice, In the morning rising early, A light thing it is reckoned to him.
15 A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions 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.
Whoso is hiding her hath hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calleth out.
17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Iron by iron is sharpened, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.
The keeper of a fig-tree eateth its fruit, And the preserver of his master is 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 the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not 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.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to 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.
If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things — with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him.
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,
Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves,
24 for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.
For riches [are] not to the age, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
25 The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.
Revealed was the hay, and seen the tender grass, And gathered the herbs of mountains.
26 Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.
Lambs [are] for thy clothing, And the price of the field [are] he-goats,
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 a sufficiency of goats' milk [is] for thy bread, For bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels!
