Proverbs 27
1 Do not boast about [what you will do] tomorrow, because you do not know what will happen [PRS] on any day.
Boast not thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.
2 Do not praise yourself [MTY, PRS]; allow others to praise you. If someone else praises you, that is okay.
Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth, A stranger, and not thine own lips.
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.]
A stone [is] heavy, and the sand [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than they both.
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 [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who standeth before jealousy?
5 It is better to correct someone openly than to show that you l don’t love that person [by not correcting him].
Better [is] open reproof 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.
Faithful are the wounds of a lover, And abundant the kisses of an enemy.
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.
A satiated soul treadeth down a honeycomb, And [to] a hungry soul every bitter thing [is] sweet.
8 Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
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].
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, And the sweetness of one's friend — from counsel of the soul.
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.
Thine own friend, and the friend of thy father, forsake not, And the house of thy brother enter not In a day of thy calamity, Better [is] a near neighbour than a brother afar off.
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].
Be wise, my son, and rejoice my heart. And I return my reproacher a word.
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.
The prudent hath seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
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].
Take his garment, when a stranger hath been surety, And for a strange woman pledge it.
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].
Whoso is saluting his friend with a loud voice, In the morning rising early, A light thing it is reckoned to him.
15 [Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
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.
Whoso is hiding her hath hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calleth out.
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].
Iron by iron is sharpened, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
The keeper of a fig-tree eateth its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honoured.
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.
As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
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)
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not 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.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
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).
If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things — with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him.
23 Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves,
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 riches [are] not to the age, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
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,
Revealed was the hay, and seen the tender grass, And gathered the herbs of mountains.
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,
Lambs [are] for thy clothing, And the price of the field [are] he-goats,
27 and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
And a sufficiency of goats' milk [is] for thy bread, For bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels!
