< Proverbs 27 >
1 Boast not for tomorrow, for thou knowest not what the day to come may bring forth.
Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings forth.
2 Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth: a stranger, and not thy own lips.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, A stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand weighty: but the anger of a fool is heavier than them both.
A stone [is] heavy, and the sand [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than them both.
4 Anger hath no mercy, nor fury when it breaketh forth: and who can bear the violence of one provoked?
Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who stands before jealousy?
5 Open rebuke is better than hidden love.
Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
6 Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.
The wounds of a lover are faithful, And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.
7 A soul that is full shall tread upon the honeycomb: and a soul that is hungry shall take even bitter for sweet.
A satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that leaveth his place.
As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
9 Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart: and the good counsels of a friend are sweet to the soul.
Perfume and incense make the heart glad, And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of the soul.
10 Thy own friend, and thy father’s friend forsake not: and go not into thy brother’s house in the day of thy affliction. Better is a neighbour that is near, than a brother afar off.
Do not forsake your own friend and the friend of your father, And do not enter the house of your brother in a day of your calamity, A near neighbor [is] better than a brother far off.
11 Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayst give an answer to him that reproacheth.
Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, And I return a word [to] my reproacher.
12 The prudent man seeing evil hideth himself: little ones passing on have suffered losses.
The prudent has seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
13 Take away his garment that hath been surety for a stranger: and take from him a pledge for strangers.
Take his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, And pledge it for a strange woman.
14 He that blesseth his neighbour with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be like to him that curseth.
Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, Rising early in the morning, It is reckoned a light thing to him.
15 Roofs dropping through in a cold day, and a contentious woman are alike.
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
16 He that retaineth her, is as he that would hold the wind, and shall call in the oil of his right hand.
Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calls out.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eat the fruit thereof: and he that is the keeper of his master, shall be glorified.
The keeper of a fig tree eats its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honored.
19 As the faces of them that look therein, shine in the water, so-the hearts of men are laid open to the wise.
As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
20 Hell and destruction are never filled: so the eyes of men are never satisfied. (Sheol )
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied. (Sheol )
21 As silver is tried in the fining-pot and gold in the furnace: so a man is tried by the mouth of him that praiseth. The heart of the wicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after knowledge.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
22 Though thou shouldst bray a fool in the mortar, as when a pestle striketh upon sodden barley, his folly would not be taken from him.
If you beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things—with a pestle, His folly does not turn aside from off him.
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy own flocks:
Know the face of your flock well, Set your heart to the droves,
24 For thou shalt not always have power: but a crown shall be given to generation and generation.
For riches [are] not for all time, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
25 The meadows are open, and the green herbs have appeared, and the hay is gathered out of the mountains.
The hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, And the herbs of mountains gathered.
26 Lambs are for thy clothing: and kids for the price of the field.
Lambs [are] for your clothing, And the price of the field [are] male goats,
27 Let the milk of the goats be enough for thy food, and for the necessities of thy house, and for maintenance for thy handmaids.
And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, For bread to your house, and life to your girls!