Proverbs 27
English Standard Version
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
(A)for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let (B)another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but (C)a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before (D)jealousy?
5 (E)Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are (F)the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full loathes (G)honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like (H)a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9 (I)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend and (J)your father's friend,
and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
(K)Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 (L)Be wise, (M)my son, and (N)make my heart glad,
that I may (O)answer him who reproaches me.
12 (P)The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but (Q)the simple go on and suffer for it.
13 (R)Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.[b]
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 (S)A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp[c] oil in one's right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.[d]
18 (T)Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who (U)guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 (V)Sheol and Abaddon are (W)never satisfied,
and (X)never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 (Y)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 (Z)Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 (AA)Know well the condition of your flocks,
and (AB)give attention to your herds,
24 for (AC)riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 (AD)When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 (AE)the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27 (AF)There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
- Proverbs 27:13 Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
- Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew to meet with
- Proverbs 27:17 Hebrew sharpens the face of another
Proverbs 27
New Living Translation
27 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
since you don’t know what the day will bring.
2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
4 Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
but jealousy is even more dangerous.
5 An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!
6 Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy.
7 A person who is full refuses honey,
but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
8 A person who strays from home
is like a bird that strays from its nest.
9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.
10 Never abandon a friend—
either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
11 Be wise, my child,[a] and make my heart glad.
Then I will be able to answer my critics.
12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
13 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.[b]
14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!
15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
so the heart reflects the real person.
20 Just as Death and Destruction[c] are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.
21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised.[d]
22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.
23 Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24 for riches don’t last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
