Proverbs 27
Living Bible
27 Don’t brag about your plans for tomorrow—wait and see what happens.
2 Don’t praise yourself; let others do it!
3 A rebel’s frustrations are heavier than sand and rocks.
4 Jealousy is more dangerous and cruel than anger.
5 Open rebuke is better than hidden love!
6 Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy!
7 Even honey seems tasteless to a man who is full; but if he is hungry, he’ll eat anything!
8 A man who strays from home is like a bird that wanders from its nest.
9 Friendly suggestions are as pleasant as perfume.
10 Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. Then you won’t need to go to a distant relative for help in your time of need.
11 My son, how happy I will be if you turn out to be sensible! It will be a public honor to me.
12 A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.
13 The world’s poorest credit risk is the man who agrees to pay a stranger’s debts.
14 If you shout a pleasant greeting to a friend too early in the morning, he will count it as a curse!
15 A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike! 16 You can no more stop her complaints than you can stop the wind or hold onto anything with greasy hands.
17 A friendly discussion is as stimulating as the sparks that fly when iron strikes iron.
18 A workman may eat from the orchard he tends; anyone should be rewarded who protects another’s interests.
19 A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.
20 Ambition[a] and death are alike in this: neither is ever satisfied.
21 The purity of silver and gold can be tested in a crucible, but a man is tested by his reaction to men’s praise.
22 You can’t separate a rebel from his foolishness though you crush him to powder.
23-24 Riches can disappear fast. And the king’s crown doesn’t stay in his family forever—so watch your business[b] interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds; 25-27 then there will be lambs’ wool enough for clothing and goats’ milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:20 Ambition, literally, “A man’s eyes.” Possibly the reference is to lust.
- Proverbs 27:23 business, implied.
Proverbs 27
English Standard Version
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
(A)for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let (B)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 (C)a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before (D)jealousy?
5 (E)Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are (F)the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full loathes (G)honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like (H)a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9 (I)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 (J)your father's friend,
and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
(K)Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 (L)Be wise, (M)my son, and (N)make my heart glad,
that I may (O)answer him who reproaches me.
12 (P)The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but (Q)the simple go on and suffer for it.
13 (R)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 (S)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]
18 (T)Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who (U)guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 (V)Sheol and Abaddon are (W)never satisfied,
and (X)never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 (Y)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 (Z)Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 (AA)Know well the condition of your flocks,
and (AB)give attention to your herds,
24 for (AC)riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 (AD)When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 (AE)the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27 (AF)There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
- Proverbs 27:13 Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
- Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew to meet with
- Proverbs 27:17 Hebrew sharpens the face of another
Proverbios 27
Reina-Valera 1995
27 No te jactes del día de mañana
porque no sabes lo que el día dará de sí.
2 Alábete el extraño y no tu propia boca;
el ajeno, y no los labios tuyos.
3 Pesada es la piedra y la arena pesa,
pero más pesada que ambas es la ira del necio.
4 Cruel es la ira e impetuoso el furor,
pero ¿quién podrá sostenerse delante de la envidia?
5 Mejor es reprensión manifiesta
que amor oculto.
6 Leales son las heridas que causa el que ama,
pero falsos los besos del que aborrece.
7 El hombre saciado desprecia el panal de miel,
pero al hambriento, aun lo amargo le resulta dulce.
8 Cual ave errante lejos de su nido
es el hombre errante lejos de su hogar.
9 Los aceites y perfumes alegran el corazón,
y el cordial consejo del amigo, al hombre.
10 No dejes a tu amigo ni al amigo de tu padre,
ni vayas a la casa de tu hermano en el día de tu aflicción:
mejor es un vecino cerca que un hermano lejos.
11 Sé sabio, hijo mío, y alegra mi corazón;
así podré responder al que me agravie.
12 El prudente ve el mal y se esconde,
pero los incautos pasan y se llevan el daño.
13 Quítale su ropa al que salió fiador por el extraño
y al que fía a la mujer ajena tómale prenda.
14 A quien de madrugada bendice en alta voz a su amigo,
por maldición se le contará.
15 Gotera continua en tiempo de lluvia
y mujer pendenciera, son semejantes:
16 pretender contenerla es como querer refrenar el viento
o retener el aceite en la mano derecha.
17 El hierro con hierro se afila,
y el hombre con el rostro de su amigo.
18 Quien cuida la higuera comerá su fruto,
y el que mira por los intereses de su señor recibirá honores.
19 Como el rostro en el agua es reflejo del rostro,
así el hombre se refleja en el corazón del hombre.
20 Como el seol y el Abadón nunca se sacian,
así los ojos del hombre nunca están satisfechos.
21 En el crisol se prueba la plata, en el horno el oro,
y al hombre la boca del que le alaba.
22 Aunque majes al necio en un mortero, entre granos de trigo majados con el pisón,
no se apartará de él su necedad.
23 Sé diligente en conocer el estado de tus ovejas
y mira con cuidado por tus rebaños,
24 porque las riquezas no duran para siempre,
ni una corona es para generaciones perpetuas.
25 Saldrá la grama, brotará la hierba
y será segada la hierba de los montes;
26 tendrás corderos para vestirte,
cabritos para el precio del campo
27 y abundancia de leche de las cabras para tu mantenimiento,
para mantenimiento de tu casa
y para sustento de tus criadas.
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