Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings 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 you, and not your own mouth, A stranger, and not your 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 the sand [is] heavy, And 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 Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who stands before jealousy?
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 Better [is] open reproof 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 The wounds of a lover are faithful, And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.
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 satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.
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 wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Perfume and incense make the heart glad, And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of 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 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.
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 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, And I return a word [to] my reproacher.
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 has seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
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 his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, And pledge it for a strange woman.
[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 Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, Rising early in the morning, It is reckoned a light thing to him.
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 A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calls out.
[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 is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face 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 The keeper of a fig tree eats its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honored.
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 [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
[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 A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
[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 If you beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things—with a pestle, His folly does not turn aside from off 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 Know the face of your flock well, Set your heart to the droves,
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 For riches [are] not for all time, Nor a crown 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 hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, And the herbs of mountains gathered.
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 your clothing, And the price of the field [are] male goats,
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 And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, For bread to your house, and life to your girls!
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
