Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings forth.
Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, A stranger, and not your own lips.
Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your 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 is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who stands before jealousy?
Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a lover are faithful, And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.
The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 A satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.
A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
8 As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Perfume and incense make the heart glad, And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of the soul.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
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.
Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, And I return a word [to] my reproacher.
Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
12 The prudent has seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, And pledge it for a strange woman.
Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
14 Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, Rising early in the morning, It is reckoned a light thing to him.
He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
15 A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
16 Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calls out.
restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
17 Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
Iron sharpens iron; so 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.
Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.
19 As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
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 you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
23 Know the face of your flock well, Set your heart to the droves,
Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,
24 For riches [are] not for all time, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
25 The hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, And the herbs of mountains gathered.
The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
26 Lambs [are] for your clothing, And the price of the field [are] male goats,
The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.
27 And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, For bread to your house, and life to your girls!
There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food, for your family’s food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.
