27 Don’t boast about tomorrow;
    for you don’t know what a day may bring.
² 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 a burden;
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
⁴ Wrath is cruel,
    and anger is overwhelming;
    but who is able to stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
⁶ The wounds of a friend are faithful,
    although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
⁷ A full soul loathes a honeycomb;
    but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
⁸ As a bird that wanders from her nest,
    so is a man who wanders from his home.
⁹ 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.