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
Proverbs 27
21st Century King James Version
27 Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is outraging, but who is able to stand before envy?
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds from a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7 The full soul loathes a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man who wandereth from his place.
9 Ointment and perfume make the heart rejoice; so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by counsel from the heart.
10 Thine own friend and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
11 My son, be wise and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, but take a pledge from him for a strange woman.
14 He that, rising early in the morning, blesseth his friend with a loud voice: it shall be counted as a curse to him.
15 A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16 Whosoever would hide her would hide the wind, and the ointment of his right hand which betrayeth itself.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.
19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is a man tried by praise.
22 Though thou shouldest grind a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds,
24 for riches are not for ever; and doth the crown endure to every generation?
25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered;
26 the lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats pay the price of the field;
27 and thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food for thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.