Proverbs 27
1 Boast not for tomorrow, for thou knowest not what the day to come may bring forth.
Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
2 Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth: a stranger, and not thy own lips.
Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand weighty: but the anger of a fool is heavier than them both.
[It causes pain to our bodies to carry heavy] stones or [a pail full of] sand, but doing something stupid/foolish [can cause] great [pain to other people’s spirits.]
4 Anger hath no mercy, nor fury when it breaketh forth: and who can bear the violence of one provoked?
It is cruel to be angry [with others], and our being angry sometimes destroys [others], but being jealous of someone is [RHQ] often more cruel than that.
5 Open rebuke is better than hidden love.
It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
6 Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.
If a friend criticizes you, [he is a good friend and] you can trust him; but if one of your enemies kisses you, he is [probably wanting to] deceive you.
7 A soul that is full shall tread upon the honeycomb: and a soul that is hungry shall take even bitter for sweet.
When someone’s stomach is full, he does not want to eat honey; but when someone is [very] hungry, he thinks that [even] bitter things taste sweet.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that leaveth his place.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart: and the good counsels of a friend are sweet to the soul.
[Putting olive] oil and perfume on a person’s skin causes him to feel good, but having a friend [who gives] good advice [is even better].
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 neglect your friends or your parents’ friends; and at a time when you are experiencing a disaster, do not go to a relative [who lives far away to request his help]; someone who lives near you can help you more than relatives who live far away.
11 Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayst give an answer to him that reproacheth.
My child/son, cause me to be happy by becoming wise, in order that I will [know how to] reply to those who would criticize me [about your behavior].
12 The prudent man seeing evil hideth himself: little ones passing on have suffered losses.
Those who have good sense will realize that there is something dangerous ahead, and they will hide; those who do not have good sense [just] keep going, and later they will suffer because of [doing] that.
13 Take away his garment that hath been surety for a stranger: and take from him a pledge for strangers.
[You deserve to] have your property taken from you if you [foolishly] promise to a stranger (OR, a strange woman) that you will pay what she owes if she is unable to pay it [DOU].
14 He that blesseth his neighbour with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be like to him that curseth.
If you rise early in the morning and call out a greeting to your neighbor [while he is still sleeping], he will consider it to be a curse, [not a blessing].
15 Roofs dropping through in a cold day, and a contentious woman are alike.
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 He that retaineth her, is as he that would hold the wind, and shall call in the oil of his right hand.
[Trying] to restrain/stop her [from doing that] is as [difficult] [SIM] [as trying] to stop the wind or [trying] to hold oil in your hand.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
[We can use one] iron tool to sharpen [another] iron [tool]; similarly [SIM], [when one person shares] what he is thinking, it can help other people [to think more clearly].
18 He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eat the fruit thereof: and he that is the keeper of his master, shall be glorified.
Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
19 As the faces of them that look therein, shine in the water, so-the hearts of men are laid open to the wise.
[When a person looks] in the water, he sees his own face; similarly [SIM], [when we look at] a person’s behavior, we know what he is thinking.
[It is as though] the place where the dead people are is always wanting more people to [die and] come there; and humans [SYN] are always wanting to acquire more things, [too]. (Sheol h7585)
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.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and [SIM] people learn [what we are really like when they see how we react when people] praise us.
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.
Even if you beat/crush a fool severely [like] [MET] you pulverize grain with a pestle, you [probably] will not be able to cause him to stop (being foolish/doing foolish things).
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy own flocks:
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 For thou shalt not always have power: but a crown shall be given to generation and generation.
because the money [that you acquired from selling animals previously] will not (last/stay with you) forever; similarly [SIM], governments [MTY] certainly do not [RHQ] last forever.
25 The meadows are open, and the green herbs have appeared, and the hay is gathered out of the mountains.
After you cut the hay [DOU] and [store it to feed the animals in the winter while] a new crop of hay is growing,
26 Lambs are for thy clothing: and kids for the price of the field.
you will be able to [shear the sheep and] make clothes from the wool, and you will get money from selling [some of] the goats to buy [more] land,
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 you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
