Proverbs 27:1-17

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.
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 is able to stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
⁶ Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
    but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ The sated appetite spurns honey,
    but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.
⁸ Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is one who strays from home.
⁹ Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
    but the soul is torn by trouble.^[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
    do not go to the house of your kindred on the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbour who is nearby
    than kindred who are far away.
¹¹ Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
    so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.
¹² The clever see danger and hide;
    but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
¹³ Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
    seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.^[b]
14 Whoever blesses a neighbour 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 wife are alike;
¹⁶ to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp oil in the right hand.^[c]
17 Iron sharpens iron,
    and one person sharpens the wits^[d] of another.