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All about Life

27 Do not brag about tomorrow,
    because you do not know what another day may bring.
Praise should come from another person and not from your own mouth,
    from a stranger and not from your own lips.
A stone is heavy, and sand weighs a lot,
    but annoyance caused by a stubborn fool is heavier than both.
Anger is cruel, and fury is overwhelming,
    but who can survive jealousy?

Open criticism is better than unexpressed love.
Wounds made by a friend are intended to help,
    but an enemy’s kisses are too much to bear.[a]
One who is full despises honey,
    but to one who is hungry,
        even bitter food tastes sweet.
Like a bird wandering from its nest,
    so is a husband wandering from his home.

Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
    but the sweetness of a friend is a fragrant forest.[b]
10 Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend.
    Do not go to a relative’s home when you are in trouble.
    A neighbor living nearby is better than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad
    so that I can answer anyone who criticizes me.
12 Sensible people foresee trouble and hide.
    Gullible people go ahead and suffer.
13 Hold on to the garment of one who guarantees a stranger’s loan,
    and hold responsible the person
        who makes a loan in behalf of a foreigner.
14 Whoever blesses his friend early in the morning with a loud voice—
    his blessing is considered a curse.

15 Constantly dripping water on a rainy day is like a quarreling woman.
16 Whoever can control her can control the wind.
    He can even pick up olive oil with his right hand.[c]

17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens the wits of another.
18 Whoever takes care of a fig tree can eat its fruit,
    and whoever protects his master is honored.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
    so a person is reflected by his heart.
20 Hell and decay are never satisfied,
    and a person’s eyes are never satisfied.

21 The crucible is for refining silver and the smelter for gold,
    but a person is tested by the praise given to him.
22 If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,[d]
    even then his stupidity will not leave him.
23 Be fully aware of the condition of your flock,
    and pay close attention to your herds.
24 Wealth is not forever.
    Nor does a crown last from one generation to the next.

25 When grass is cut short, the tender growth appears,
    and vegetables are gathered on the hills.
26 Lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the money from the male goats will buy a field.
27 There will be enough goat milk to feed you,
    to feed your family,
        and to keep your servant girls alive.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:6 Hebrew meaning of “are too much to bear” uncertain.
  2. Proverbs 27:9 Or “is sincere advice.”
  3. Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
  4. Proverbs 27:22 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

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

27 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

Open rebuke is better than secret love.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.