Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring 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 man 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 sand is a burden; but a fool's provocation is heavier than 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 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand 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 rebuke 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 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
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 full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
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 that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man's friend.
[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 friend and your father's friend. Do not go to your brother's house in the day of your disaster: better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.
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 bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
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 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
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 he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward 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 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by 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 on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
[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 sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend's countenance.
[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 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be 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 water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the 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 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by 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 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from 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 well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 for riches are not forever, nor does even the crown endure to all generations.
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 is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
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 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.
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 There will be plenty of goats' milk for your food, for your family's food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
