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.
Proverbs 27
Common English Bible
27 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
for you don’t know what a day will bring.
2 Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand weighs much,
but the nuisance of fools is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is a flood,
but who can withstand jealousy?
5 A public correction is better than hidden love.
6 Trustworthy are the bruises of a friend;
excessive are the kisses of an enemy.
7 Someone who is full refuses honey,
but anything bitter tastes sweet to a hungry person.
8 Like a bird wandering from its nest,
so is one who wanders from home.
9 Oil and incense make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of friends comes from their advice.[a]
10 Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
so I can answer those who insult me.
12 Prudent people see evil and hide;
the simpleminded go right to it and get punished.
13 Take the garment of the person who secures a loan for a stranger;
take his pledge for a foreigner.
14 Greeting a neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning
will be viewed as a curse.
15 The constant dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike;
16 anyone who can control her
can control the wind
or pick up oil in his hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens a friend.
18 Those who tend a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and those who look after their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
so the heart reflects one person to another.
20 The grave[b] and the underworld[c] are never satisfied;
and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 A crucible is for silver and a furnace for gold;
so are people in the presence of someone who praises them.
22 Even if you grind fools in a mortar,
even grinding them along with the grain,
their folly won’t be driven from them.
23 Know your flock well;
pay attention to your herds,
24 for no treasure lasts forever,
nor a crown generation after generation.
25 When the grass goes away, new growth appears,
and the plants of the hills are gathered,
26 then the lambs will provide your clothes,
and the goats will be the price of your fields.
27 There will be enough goat’s milk for your food,
for the food of your house,
and to nourish your young women.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:9 Heb uncertain
- Proverbs 27:20 Heb Sheol
- Proverbs 27:20 Heb Abaddon
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.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible