Proverbs 27
Lexham English Bible
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,[a]
for you do not know what the day will bring.
2 May another praise you and not your own mouth,
a stranger and not your own lips.
3 Heavy is a stone and weighty is sand,
but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.
4 Cruel is wrath and overwhelming is anger,
but who will stand before jealousy?
5 Better a rebuke that is open
than a love that is hidden.
6 The wounds of a friend mean well,
but the kisses of an enemy are profane.
7 An appetite[b] that is sated spurns honey,
but to an appetite[c] that is ravenous, all bitterness is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest,
so is a man who strays from his place.
9 Perfume and incense will gladden a heart,
and the pleasantness of one’s friend is personal advice.[d]
10 As for your friend and a friend of your father, do not forsake them,
and the house of your brother, do not enter on the day of your calamity.
Better is a close neighbor than a distant brother.
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
and I will answer him who reproaches me with a word.
12 When the clever sees danger, he hides;
the simple go on and suffer.
13 Take his garment, for he gives surety to a stranger,
and to an adulteress[e]—so take his pledge.
14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice
early in the morning,
a curse will be reckoned to him.
15 Dripping constantly on a day of heavy rain
and a woman[f] of contention are alike.
16 In restraining her, he restrains wind,[g]
and his right hand will grasp oil[h].
17 As iron sharpens[i] iron,
so one man sharpens another.[j]
18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master[k] will be honored.
19 As the waters reflect face to face,[l]
so the heart of a person reflects the person.
20 Sheol[m] and Abaddon[n] will not be satisfied,
and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied either.
21 A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace for the gold,
but a man is tested by the mouth of him who praises him.
22 If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle along with[o] the crushed grain,
it will not drive folly from upon him.
23 You will surely know the condition[p] of your flock;
your heart[q] attends to the herds.
24 For riches are not forever,
nor a crown for generation after generation.
25 When the grass is gone, then green growth will appear,
and the herbs of the mountains will be gathered.
26 Lambs will be your clothing,
and goats the price of the field.
27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household and the nourishment[r] of your maidservants.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:1 Literally “on the day of tomorrow”
- Proverbs 27:7 Literally “soul”
- Proverbs 27:7 Literally “soul”
- Proverbs 27:9 Literally “because of advice of a person”
- Proverbs 27:13 Literally “a foreign woman”
- Proverbs 27:15 Or “wife”
- Proverbs 27:16 Or “breath, or “spirit”
- Proverbs 27:16 Or “fat”
- Proverbs 27:17 Or “is united with”
- Proverbs 27:17 Literally “a man sharpens the faces of his friend”
- Proverbs 27:18 Or “lord”
- Proverbs 27:19 Literally “the faces to the faces”
- Proverbs 27:20 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 27:20 Poetic synonym for “Sheol.” Only mentioned in the ot in relation to Sheol, the grave, or death.
- Proverbs 27:22 Or “in the midst of”
- Proverbs 27:23 Literally “faces”
- Proverbs 27:23 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 27:27 Literally “life”
Proverbs 27
New King James Version
My Son, Be Wise
27 Do(A) not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 (B)Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent,
But (C)who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 (D)Open rebuke is better
Than love carefully concealed.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are (E)deceitful.
7 A satisfied soul [a]loathes the honeycomb,
But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird that wanders from its nest
Is a man who wanders from his place.
9 Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by [b]hearty counsel.
10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
(F)Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
(G)That I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are (H)punished.
13 Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.
14 He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It will be counted a curse to him.
15 A (I)continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 Whoever [c]restrains her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 (J)Whoever [d]keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit;
So he who waits on his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
So a man’s heart reveals the man.
21 (M)The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And a man is valued by what others say of him.
22 (N)Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
23 Be diligent to know the state of your (O)flocks,
And attend to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25 (P)When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
26 The lambs will provide your clothing,
And the goats the price of a field;
27 You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And the nourishment of your maidservants.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:7 tramples on
- Proverbs 27:9 Lit. counsel of the soul
- Proverbs 27:16 Lit. hides
- Proverbs 27:18 protects or tends
- Proverbs 27:20 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 27:20 Heb. Abaddon
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
