Proverbs 27:5-17

English Standard Version

^5 (A)Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
⁶ Faithful are ^(B)the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ One who is full loathes ^(C)honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
⁸ Like ^(D)a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.
^9 (E)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.^[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend and ^(F)your father's friend,
    and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
^(G)Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
^11 (H)Be wise, ^(I)my son, and ^(J)make my heart glad,
    that I may ^(K)answer him who reproaches me.
^12 (L)The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but ^(M)the simple go on and suffer for it.
^13 (N)Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.^[b]
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
^15 (O)A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
¹⁶ to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp^[c] oil in one's right hand.
¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.^[d]