Proverbs 27
1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings forth.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; 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 is a burden; but a fool’s provocation 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 cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who stands before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
The wounds of a lover are faithful, And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.
7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
A satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.
8 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
Perfume and incense make the heart glad, And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of the soul.
10 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 neighbour who is near is better than a distant brother.
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 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, And I return a word [to] my reproacher.
12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
The prudent has seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
Take his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, And pledge it for a strange woman.
14 He who blesses his neighbour with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, Rising early in the morning, It is reckoned a light thing to him.
15 A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calls out.
17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honoured.
The keeper of a fig tree eats its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honored.
19 Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed 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 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,
Know the face of your flock well, Set your heart to the droves,
24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
For riches [are] not for all time, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
The hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, And the herbs of mountains gathered.
26 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.
Lambs [are] for your clothing, And the price of the field [are] male goats,
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 a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, For bread to your house, and life to your girls!
