Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
Don't boast about what you're going to do tomorrow, because you don't know what the day may bring.
2 Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
Let others praise you, not you yourself; someone else, not you personally.
3 [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.]
Stone may be heavy, and sand may weigh a lot, but the annoyance caused by stupid people is the biggest burden of all.
4 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.
Fury may be fierce and cruel, anger may be a destructive flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
5 It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
Open criticism is better than hidden love.
6 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.
A friend's honest comments may hurt you, but an enemy's kisses are over the top.
7 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.
If you're full up, you can't face honey; but if you're starving, even bitter food tastes sweet.
8 Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
Having to leave home is like a bird having to leave its nest.
9 [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].
Perfume and scented oils make you feel happy, but good advice from a friend is even better.
10 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.
Don't give up on your friends or your family's friends. Don't go to a relative's house when you've got trouble. A friend nearby is more useful than a relative far away.
11 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].
My son, make me happy by being wise, so I can respond to anyone who criticizes me.
12 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.
If you're sensible you see danger coming and get out of the way; but stupid people just keep going and suffer the consequences.
13 [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].
If someone guarantees a stranger's debt with their cloak, be sure to take it! Make sure you have whatever is pledged to an immoral woman!
14 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].
If when you get up every morning you shout a loud hello to your neighbors, they will see that as a curse!
15 [Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
An argumentative wife is as irritating as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 [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.
Trying to stop her is like trying to make the wind stop or trying to hold olive oil in your hand.
17 [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].
An iron blade is sharpened with an iron tool, and one person's mind is sharpened by another's.
18 Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
Those who care for a fig tree eat its fruit, and those who care for their master are rewarded.
19 [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.
Just as water reflects your face, your mind reflects who you really are.
20 [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)
In the same way that the grave and destruction are never satisfied, human desire is never satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 [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.
Just as a crucible tests silver, and a furnace tests gold, people are tested by the praise they receive.
22 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).
Even if you ground stupid people in a mortar, crushing them like grain with the pestle, you can't get rid of stupidity from them.
23 Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
You should know the condition of your flocks really well and take good care of your herds,
24 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.
for wealth doesn't last forever—is a crown passed down through all generations?
25 After you cut the hay [DOU] and [store it to feed the animals in the winter while] a new crop of hay is growing,
Once the hay is cut, and the new growth begins, and fodder from the mountains is gathered,
26 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,
and the lambs have provided you wool to make clothing, and the sale of goats have paid for a field,
27 and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
there'll be enough milk from your goats to feed you, your family, and your servant girls.
