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27 Don’t brag about tomorrow;
    you don’t know what may happen then.

Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.
    Let the praise come from a stranger and not from your own mouth.

Stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a complaining fool is worse than either.

Anger is cruel and destroys like a flood,
    but no one can put up with jealousy!

It is better to correct someone openly
    than to have love and not show it.

The slap of a friend can be trusted to help you,
    but the kisses of an enemy are nothing but lies.

When you are full, not even honey tastes good,
    but when you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.

A person who leaves his home
    is like a bird that leaves its nest.

The sweet smell of perfume and oils is pleasant,
    and so is good advice from a friend.

10 Don’t forget your friend or your parent’s friend.
    Don’t always go to your family for help when trouble comes.
    A neighbor close by is better than a family far away.

11 Be wise, my child, and make me happy.
    Then I can respond to any insult.

12 The wise see danger ahead and avoid it,
    but fools keep going and get into trouble.

13 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s loan,
    and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes.

14 If you loudly greet your neighbor early in the morning,
    he will think of it as a curse.

15 A quarreling wife is as bothersome
    as a continual dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her is like stopping the wind
    or trying to grab oil in your hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so people can improve each other.

18 Whoever tends a fig tree gets to eat its fruit,
    and whoever takes care of his master will receive honor.

19 As water reflects your face,
    so your mind shows what kind of person you are.

20 People will never stop dying and being destroyed,
    and they will never stop wanting more than they have.

21 A hot furnace tests silver and gold,
    and people are tested by the praise they receive.

22 Even if you ground up a foolish person like grain in a bowl,
    you couldn’t remove the foolishness.

23 Be sure you know how your sheep are doing,
    and pay attention to the condition of your cattle.
24 Riches will not go on forever,
    nor do governments go on forever.
25 Bring in the hay, and let the new grass appear.
    Gather the grass from the hills.
26 Make clothes from the lambs’ wool,
    and sell some goats to buy a field.
27 There will be plenty of goat’s milk
    to feed you and your family
    and to make your servant girls healthy.

27 Do not boast(A) about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.(B)

Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
    an outsider, and not your own lips.(C)

Stone is heavy and sand(D) a burden,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?(E)

Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.(F)

One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Like a bird that flees its nest(G)
    is anyone who flees from home.

Perfume(H) and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster(I) strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;(J)
    then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.(K)

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.(L)

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.(M)

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse.

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping(N)
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,(O)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.(P)

19 As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.[a]

20 Death and Destruction[b] are never satisfied,(Q)
    and neither are human eyes.(R)

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,(S)
    but people are tested by their praise.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
    grinding them like grain with a pestle,
    you will not remove their folly from them.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,(T)
    give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,(U)
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:19 Or so others reflect your heart back to you
  2. Proverbs 27:20 Hebrew Abaddon