| 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. |
Cross references:
-
Proverbs 27:1 : Luke 12:19, 20; James 4:13.
-
Proverbs 27:5 : Prov. 28:23; Gal. 2:14.
-
Proverbs 27:11 : Prov. 10:1; 23:15, 24.
-
Proverbs 27:13 : Prov. 20:16.
-
Proverbs 27:15 : Prov. 19:13.
-
Proverbs 27:18 : I Cor. 9:7, 13.
-
Proverbs 27:20 : Prov. 30:16; Hab. 2:5.
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