Proverbs 27
1 Boast not of to-morrow; for you know not what the next day shall bring forth.
Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings forth.
2 Let your neighbor, and not your own mouth, praise you; a stranger, and not your 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 cumbersome; but a fool's wrath is heavier than both.
A stone [is] heavy, and the sand [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than them both.
4 Wrath is merciless, and anger sharp: but envy can bear nothing.
Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who stands before jealousy?
5 Open reproofs are better than secret love.
Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a friend are more to be trusted than the spontaneous kisses of an enemy.
The wounds of a lover are faithful, And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.
7 A full soul scorns honeycombs; but to a hungry soul even bitter things appear sweet.
A satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.
8 As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a man is brought into bondage whenever he estranges himself from his own place.
As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
9 The heart delights in ointments and wines and perfumes: but the soul is broken by calamities.
Perfume and incense make the heart glad, And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of the soul.
10 Your own friend, and your father's friend, forsake not; and when you are in distress go not into your brother's house: better is a friend [that is] near than a brother living far 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 Son, be wise, that your heart may rejoice; and remove you from yourself reproachful words.
Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, And I return a word [to] my reproacher.
12 A wise man, when evils are approaching, hides himself; but fools pass on, and will be punished.
The prudent has seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
13 Take away the man's garment, (for a scorner has passed by) whoever lays waste another's goods.
Take his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, And pledge it for a strange woman.
14 Whosoever shall bless a friend in the morning with a loud voice, shall seem to differ nothing from one who curses [him].
Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, Rising early in the morning, It is reckoned a light thing to him.
15 On a stormy day drops [of rain] drive a man out of his house; so also does a railing woman [drive a man] out of his own house.
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
16 The north wind is sharp, but it is called by name propitious.
Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calls out.
17 Iron sharpens iron; and a man sharpens his friend's countenance.
Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 He that plants a fig tree shall eat the fruits of it: so he that waits on his own master shall be honored.
The keeper of a fig tree eats its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honored.
19 As faces are not like [other] faces, so neither are the thoughts of men.
As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
20 Hell and destruction are not filled; so also are the eyes of men insatiable. [He that fixes his eye is an abomination to the Lord; and the uninstructed do not restrain their tongue.] (Sheol h7585)
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 Fire is the trial for silver and gold; and a man is tried by the mouth of them that praise him. The heart of the transgressor seeks after mischiefs; but an upright heart seeks knowledge.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
22 Though you scourge a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, you will [still] in no wise remove his folly 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 Do you thoroughly know the number of your flock, and pay attention to your herds.
Know the face of your flock well, Set your heart to the droves,
24 For a man [has] not strength and power for ever; neither does he transmit it from generation to generation.
For riches [are] not for all time, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
25 Take care of the herbage in the field, and you shall cut grass, and gather the mountain hay;
The hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, And the herbs of mountains gathered.
26 that you may have [wool of] sheep for clothing: pay attention to the land, that you may have lambs.
Lambs [are] for your clothing, And the price of the field [are] male goats,
27 [My] son, you have from me words very useful for your life, and for the life of your servants.
And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, For bread to your house, and life to your girls!
