Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.
Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.
Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
3 A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both.
[It causes pain to our bodies to carry heavy] stones or [a pail full of] sand, but doing something stupid/foolish [can cause] great [pain to other people’s spirits.]
4 Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?
It is cruel to be angry [with others], and our being angry sometimes destroys [others], but being jealous of someone is [RHQ] often more cruel than that.
5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love.
It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
6 The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.
If a friend criticizes you, [he is a good friend and] you can trust him; but if one of your enemies kisses you, he is [probably wanting to] deceive you.
7 A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.
When someone’s stomach is full, he does not want to eat honey; but when someone is [very] hungry, he thinks that [even] bitter things taste sweet.
8 Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul.
[Putting olive] oil and perfume on a person’s skin causes him to feel good, but having a friend [who gives] good advice [is even better].
10 Do not dismiss your friend or your father’s friend. And do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother.
Do not neglect your friends or your parents’ friends; and at a time when you are experiencing a disaster, do not go to a relative [who lives far away to request his help]; someone who lives near you can help you more than relatives who live far away.
11 My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.
My child/son, cause me to be happy by becoming wise, in order that I will [know how to] reply to those who would criticize me [about your behavior].
12 The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.
Those who have good sense will realize that there is something dangerous ahead, and they will hide; those who do not have good sense [just] keep going, and later they will suffer because of [doing] that.
13 Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners.
[You deserve to] have your property taken from you if you [foolishly] promise to a stranger (OR, a strange woman) that you will pay what she owes if she is unable to pay it [DOU].
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.
If you rise early in the morning and call out a greeting to your neighbor [while he is still sleeping], he will consider it to be a curse, [not a blessing].
15 A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand.
[Trying] to restrain/stop her [from doing that] is as [difficult] [SIM] [as trying] to stop the wind or [trying] to hold oil in your hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
[We can use one] iron tool to sharpen [another] iron [tool]; similarly [SIM], [when one person shares] what he is thinking, it can help other people [to think more clearly].
18 Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.
Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
19 In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent.
[When a person looks] in the water, he sees his own face; similarly [SIM], [when we look at] a person’s behavior, we know what he is thinking.
[It is as though] the place where the dead people are is always wanting more people to [die and] come there; and humans [SYN] are always wanting to acquire more things, [too]. (Sheol h7585)
21 In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and [SIM] people learn [what we are really like when they see how we react when people] praise us.
22 Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him.
Even if you beat/crush a fool severely [like] [MET] you pulverize grain with a pestle, you [probably] will not be able to cause him to stop (being foolish/doing foolish things).
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.
because the money [that you acquired from selling animals previously] will not (last/stay with you) forever; similarly [SIM], governments [MTY] certainly do not [RHQ] last forever.
25 The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.
After you cut the hay [DOU] and [store it to feed the animals in the winter while] a new crop of hay is growing,
26 Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.
you will be able to [shear the sheep and] make clothes from the wool, and you will get money from selling [some of] the goats to buy [more] land,
27 Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
