Proverbs 27
1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a 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 man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, 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 heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation 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 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
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 Better is open rebuke 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 friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
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 full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is 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 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
Anyone who wanders [far] from his home/family is like [SIM] a bird that is far from its nest.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
[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 Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbour who is near 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 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
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 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
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 his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
[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 He who blesses his neighbour with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
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 continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
[Having] a wife that is [constantly] nagging is as [bad as listening] to rain continually dripping on a rainy day.
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in 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; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
[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 tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honoured.
Those who take care of fig trees will have figs to eat; [similarly], servants who protect their master will be honored [by him].
19 Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
[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 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
[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 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed 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 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,
Take good care of your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle,
24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
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 hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
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 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are 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 There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food, for your family’s food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.
and you will get enough milk from the [other] goats for you and your family and your female servants.
