Proverbs 27

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.
² Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
³ A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
⁴ Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷ One who is full loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
⁸ Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.
⁹ Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.^[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
    and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
¹¹ Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
    that I may answer him who reproaches me.
¹² The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
¹³ Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.^[b]
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
¹⁵ A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
¹⁶ to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp^[c] oil in one’s right hand.
¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.^[d]
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master will be honored.
¹⁹ As in water face reflects face,
    so the heart of man reflects the man.
²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
²¹ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and a man is tested by his praise.
²² Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³ Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds,
²⁴ for riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
²⁵ When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
²⁶ the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
²⁷ There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
2. Proverbs 27:13 Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
3. Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew to meet with
4. Proverbs 27:17 Hebrew sharpens the face of another

My Son, Be Wise

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know 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 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.

⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent,
But who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵ Open rebuke is better
Than love carefully concealed.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷ A satisfied soul ^[a]loathes the honeycomb,
But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest
Is a man who wanders from his place.

⁹ Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by ^[b]hearty counsel.

¹⁰ Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹ My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
That I may answer him who reproaches me.

¹² A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are punished.

¹³ Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.

¹⁴ He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It will be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵ A continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike;
¹⁶ Whoever ^[c]restrains her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

¹⁸ Whoever ^[d]keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit;
So he who waits on his master will be honored.

¹⁹ As in water face reflects face,
So a man’s heart reveals the man.

²⁰ Hell^[e] and ^[f]Destruction are never full;
So the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹ The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And a man is valued by what others say of him.

²² Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

²³ Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
²⁴ For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
²⁵ When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
²⁶ The lambs will provide your clothing,
And the goats the price of a field;
²⁷ You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And the nourishment of your maidservants.

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 27:7 tramples on
2. Proverbs 27:9 Lit. counsel of the soul
3. Proverbs 27:16 Lit. hides
4. Proverbs 27:18 protects or tends
5. Proverbs 27:20 Or Sheol
6. Proverbs 27:20 Heb. Abaddon