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27 Don’t boast about tomorrow;
    for you don’t know what a day may bring.
Let another man praise you,
    and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy,
    and sand is a burden;
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel,
    and anger is overwhelming;
    but who is able to stand before jealousy?
Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
The wounds of a friend are faithful,
    although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
A full soul loathes a honeycomb;
    but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
As a bird that wanders from her nest,
    so is a man who wanders from his home.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart;
    so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
10 Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend.
    Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster.
    A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother.
11 Be wise, my son,
    and bring joy to my heart,
    then I can answer my tormentor.
12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge;
    but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger.
    Hold it for a wayward woman!
14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse by him.
15 A continual dropping on a rainy day
    and a contentious wife are alike:
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind,
    or like grasping oil in his right hand.

17 Iron sharpens iron;
    so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit.
    He who looks after his master shall be honored.
19 Like water reflects a face,
    so a man’s heart reflects the man.
20 Sheol[a] and Abaddon are never satisfied;
    and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 The crucible is for silver,
    and the furnace for gold;
    but man is refined by his praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
    yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

23 Know well the state of your flocks,
    and pay attention to your herds:
24 for riches are not forever,
    nor does the crown endure to all generations.
25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears,
    the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for your clothing,
    and the goats are the price of a field.
27 There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food,
    for your family’s food,
    and for the nourishment of your servant girls.

Footnotes

  1. 27:20 Sheol is the place of the dead.

27 Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
A stranger, and not thine own lips.
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both.
Wrath is cruel, and anger is [a]overwhelming;
But who is able to stand before jealousy?
Better is open rebuke
Than love that is hidden.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
The full soul [b]loatheth a honeycomb;
But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
So is a man that wandereth from his place.
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

  1. Proverbs 27:4 Hebrew a flood.
  2. Proverbs 27:7 Hebrew trampleth upon.
  3. Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew hide.
  4. Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew hideth.
  5. Proverbs 27:16 Or, the oil of his right hand betrayeth itself
  6. Proverbs 27:19 Or, As water showeth face to face, so the heart showeth man to man
  7. Proverbs 27:21 Or, that which he praiseth. Or, that whereof he boasteth
  8. Proverbs 27:25 Hebrew grass.