Proverbs 27
1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
Boast not thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth, A stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
A stone [is] heavy, and the sand [is] heavy, And the anger of a fool Is heavier than they both.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
Fury [is] fierce, and anger [is] overflowing, And who standeth before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
Faithful are the wounds of a lover, And abundant the kisses of an enemy.
7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
A satiated soul treadeth down a honeycomb, And [to] a hungry soul every bitter thing [is] sweet.
8 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
As a bird wandering from her nest, So [is] a man wandering from his place.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, And the sweetness of one's friend — from counsel of the soul.
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.
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 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
Be wise, my son, and rejoice my heart. And I return my reproacher a word.
12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
The prudent hath seen the evil, he is hidden, The simple have passed on, they are punished.
13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
Take his garment, when a stranger hath been surety, And for a strange woman pledge it.
14 He who blesses his neighbour with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
Whoso is saluting his friend with a loud voice, In the morning rising early, A light thing it is reckoned to him.
15 A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
A continual dropping in a day of rain, And a woman of contentions are alike,
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
Whoso is hiding her hath hidden the wind, And the ointment of his right hand calleth out.
17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
Iron by iron is sharpened, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honoured.
The keeper of a fig-tree eateth its fruit, And the preserver of his master is honoured.
19 Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
As [in] water the face [is] to face, So the heart of man to man.
Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied. (Sheol h7585)
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things — with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him.
23 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,
Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves,
24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
For riches [are] not to the age, Nor a crown to generation and generation.
25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
Revealed was the hay, and seen the tender grass, And gathered the herbs of mountains.
26 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.
Lambs [are] for thy clothing, And the price of the field [are] he-goats,
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 a sufficiency of goats' milk [is] for thy bread, For bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels!
