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