Proverbs 27
1 Don't boast about what you're going to do tomorrow, because you don't know what the day may bring.
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.
2 Let others praise you, not you yourself; someone else, not you personally.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.
3 Stone may be heavy, and sand may weigh a lot, but the annoyance caused by stupid people is the biggest burden of all.
A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both.
4 Fury may be fierce and cruel, anger may be a destructive flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?
5 Open criticism is better than hidden love.
An open rebuke is better than hidden love.
6 A friend's honest comments may hurt you, but an enemy's kisses are over the top.
The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.
7 If you're full up, you can't face honey; but if you're starving, even bitter food tastes sweet.
A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.
8 Having to leave home is like a bird having to leave its nest.
Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place.
9 Perfume and scented oils make you feel happy, but good advice from a friend is even better.
Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul.
10 Don't give up on your friends or your family's friends. Don't go to a relative's house when you've got trouble. A friend nearby is more useful than a relative far away.
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.
11 My son, make me happy by being wise, so I can respond to anyone who criticizes me.
My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.
12 If you're sensible you see danger coming and get out of the way; but stupid people just keep going and suffer the consequences.
The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.
13 If someone guarantees a stranger's debt with their cloak, be sure to take it! Make sure you have whatever is pledged to an immoral woman!
Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners.
14 If when you get up every morning you shout a loud hello to your neighbors, they will see that as a curse!
Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.
15 An argumentative wife is as irritating as constant dripping on a rainy day.
A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.
16 Trying to stop her is like trying to make the wind stop or trying to hold olive oil in your hand.
He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand.
17 An iron blade is sharpened with an iron tool, and one person's mind is sharpened by another's.
Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 Those who care for a fig tree eat its fruit, and those who care for their master are rewarded.
Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.
19 Just as water reflects your face, your mind reflects who you really are.
In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent.
20 In the same way that the grave and destruction are never satisfied, human desire is never satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
Hell and perdition are never filled; similarly the eyes of men are insatiable. (Sheol h7585)
21 Just as a crucible tests silver, and a furnace tests gold, people are tested by the praise they receive.
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.
22 Even if you ground stupid people in a mortar, crushing them like grain with the pestle, you can't get rid of stupidity from them.
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.
23 You should know the condition of your flocks really well and take good care of your herds,
Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,
24 for wealth doesn't last forever—is a crown passed down through all generations?
for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.
25 Once the hay is cut, and the new growth begins, and fodder from the mountains is gathered,
The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.
26 and the lambs have provided you wool to make clothing, and the sale of goats have paid for a field,
Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.
27 there'll be enough milk from your goats to feed you, your family, and your servant girls.
Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.
