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27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming;
    but who can stand before jealousy?
Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
He who is sated loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
Like a bird that strays from its nest,
    is a man who strays from his home.
Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    but the soul is torn by trouble.[a]
10 Your friend, and your father’s friend, do not forsake;
    and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
    that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man sees danger and hides himself;
    but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
13 Take a man’s garment when he has given surety for a stranger,
    and hold him in pledge when he gives surety for foreigners.[b]
14 He who blesses his neighbor 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 woman are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind[c]
    or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face answers to face,
    so the mind of man reflects the man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and a man is judged by his praise.
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    yet his folly will not depart from him.

23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not last for ever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 When the grass is gone, and the new growth appears,
    and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field;
27 there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your maidens.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:9 Gk: Heb the sweetness of his friend from hearty counsel
  2. Proverbs 27:13 Vg and 20.16: Heb a foreign woman
  3. Proverbs 27:16 Heb obscure

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