Proverbs 27

Warnings and Instructions

1 ^aDo not boast about tomorrow,
For you ^bdo not know what a day may bring.
2 Let ^canother praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.
4 Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood,
But ^dwho can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is ^eopen rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful are the ^fwounds of a friend,
But ▼

▼Or excessive

deceitful are the ^hkisses of an enemy.
7 A satisfied ▼

▼Lit soul

person ▼

▼Lit tramples on

despises honey,
But to a hungry ▼

▼Lit soul

person any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a ^lbird that wanders from its nest,
So is a person who ^mwanders from his ▼

▼Lit place

home.
9 ^oOil and perfume make the heart glad,
And a ▼

▼Lit soul’s

person’s advice is sweet to his friend.
10 Do not abandon your ^qfriend or ^ryour father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your disaster;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.
11 ^sBe wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
So that I may ^treply to one who taunts me.
12 A prudent person sees evil and hides himself;
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.
13 ^uTake his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;
And for a foreign woman seize a pledge from him.
14 ^vOne who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be considered a curse to him.
15 A ^wconstant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 He who would ▼

▼Lit hide(s)

restrain her ▼

▼Lit hide(s)

restrains the wind,
And ▼

▼Lit encounters

grasps oil with his right hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So one person sharpens another.
18 One who tends the ^aafig tree will eat its fruit,
And one who ^abcares for his master will be honored.
19 As in water a face reflects the face,
So the heart of a person reflects the person.
20 ▼

▼I.e., The netherworld

, ^adSheol and ▼

▼I.e., the place of destruction

Abaddon are ^afnever satisfied,
Nor are the ^ageyes of a person ever satisfied.
21 The ^ahcrucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each ^aiis tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you ^ajpound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
His foolishness still will not leave him.

23 ^akKnow well the ▼

▼Lit face

condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a ^amcrown endure to all generations.
25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are ^angathered in,
26 The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,
27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your attendants.