Proverbs 27
1 DO NOT boast of [yourself and] tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth. 2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.3 Stone is heavy and sand weighty, but a fool’s [unreasoning] wrath is heavier and more intolerable than both of them.4 Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy?5 Open rebuke is better than love that is hidden. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful.7 He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.8 Like a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who strays from his home.9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.10 Your own friend and your father’s friend, forsake them not; neither go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near [in spirit] than a brother who is far off [in heart].11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me [as having failed in my parental duty]. 12 A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering].13 [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners. 14 The flatterer who loudly praises and glorifies his neighbor, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted as cursing him [for he will be suspected of sinister purposes].15 A continual dripping on a day of violent showers and a contentious woman are alike; 16 Whoever attempts to restrain [a contentious woman] might as well try to stop the wind--his right hand encounters oil [and she slips through his fingers].17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend [to show rage or worthy purpose].18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit; so he who patiently and faithfully guards and heeds his master shall be honored. 19 As in water face answers to and reflects face, so the heart of man to man.20 Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the place of destruction) are never satisfied; so [the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied. 21 As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts].22 Even though like grain you should pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds;24 For riches are not forever; does a crown endure to all generations?25 When the hay is gone, the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountain are gathered in,26 The lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats [will furnish you] the price of a field.27 And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your maids.
Proverbs 27
You Don't Know Tomorrow
1 Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.
2 Don't call attention to yourself; let others do that for you.
3 Carrying a log across your shoulders while you're hefting a boulder with your arms Is nothing compared to the burden of putting up with a fool.
4 We're blasted by anger and swamped by rage, but who can survive jealousy?
5 A spoken reprimand is better than approval that's never expressed.
6 The wounds from a lover are worth it; kisses from an enemy do you in.
7 When you've stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert; when you're starved, you could eat a horse.
8 People who won't settle down, wandering hither and yon, are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10 Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends and run home to your family when things get rough; Better a nearby friend than a distant family.
11 Become wise, dear child, and make me happy; then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger; be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14 If you wake your friend in the early morning by shouting "Rise and shine!" It will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing.
15-16 A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet; You can't turn it off, and you can't get away from it.
Your Face Mirrors Your Heart
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.
18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.
19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
20 Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.
21 The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.
22 Pound on a fool all you like— you can't pound out foolishness.
23-27 Know your sheep by name; carefully attend to your flocks; (Don't take them for granted; possessions don't last forever, you know.) And then, when the crops are in and the harvest is stored in the barns, You can knit sweaters from lambs' wool, and sell your goats for a profit; There will be plenty of milk and meat to last your family through the winter.