Proverbs 27
Revised Standard Version
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Let 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 a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming;
but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 He who is sated loathes honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest,
is a man who strays from his home.
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
but the soul is torn by trouble.[a]
10 Your friend, and your father’s friend, do not forsake;
and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man sees danger and hides himself;
but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
13 Take a man’s garment when he has given surety for a stranger,
and hold him in pledge when he gives surety for foreigners.[b]
14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind[c]
or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face answers to face,
so the mind of man reflects the man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is judged by his praise.
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not last for ever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 When the grass is gone, and the new growth appears,
and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field;
27 there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your maidens.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:9 Gk: Heb the sweetness of his friend from hearty counsel
- Proverbs 27:13 Vg and 20.16: Heb a foreign woman
- Proverbs 27:16 Heb obscure
Proverbs 27
American Standard 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 vexation is heavier than they both.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is [a]overwhelming;
But who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
Than love that is hidden.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 The full soul [b]loatheth 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 that wandereth from his place.
9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;
So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not;
And go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity:
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 seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
And hold him in pledge that is surety for a foreign woman.
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike:
16 He that would [c]restrain her [d]restraineth the wind;
And [e]his right hand encountereth oil.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron;
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof;
And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
19 [f]As in water face answereth to face,
So the heart of man to man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;
And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
And a man is tried by [g]his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain,
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 unto all generations?
25 The [h]hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing,
And the goats are the price of the field;
27 And there will be goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,
And maintenance for thy maidens.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:4 Hebrew a flood.
- Proverbs 27:7 Hebrew trampleth upon.
- Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew hide.
- Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew hideth.
- Proverbs 27:16 Or, the oil of his right hand betrayeth itself
- Proverbs 27:19 Or, As water showeth face to face, so the heart showeth man to man
- Proverbs 27:21 Or, that which he praiseth. Or, that whereof he boasteth
- Proverbs 27:25 Hebrew grass.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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