Proverbs 27

Do not boast about tomorrow;

For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

²Let another man praise you,

And not your own mouth;

A stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy,

And sand is a burden;

But a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Wrath is cruel,

And anger is overwhelming;

But who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is open rebuke

Than hidden love.

⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

Although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

⁷A full soul loathes a honeycomb;

But to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸As a bird that wanders from her nest,

So is a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart;

So does earnest counsel from a man's friend.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend.

Do not go to your brother's house in the day of your disaster:

Better is a neighbour who is near than a distant brother.

¹¹Be wise, my son,

And bring joy to my heart,

Then I can answer my tormentor.

¹²A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge;

But the simple pass on, and suffer for it:

¹³Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger;

Hold it for a wayward woman!

¹⁴He who blesses his neighbour with a loud voice early in the morning,

It will be taken as a curse by him.

¹⁵A continual dropping on a rainy day

And a contentious wife are alike:

¹⁶Restraining her is like restraining the wind,

Or like grasping oil in his right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron;

So a man sharpens his friend's countenance.

¹⁸Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit.

He who looks after his master shall be honoured.

¹⁹As water reflects a face,

So a man's heart reflects the man.

²⁰The grave and Abaddon are never satisfied;

And a man's eyes are never satisfied.

²¹The crucible is for silver,

And the furnace for gold;

But man is refined by his praise.

²²Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,

Yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

²³Know well the state of your flocks,

And pay attention to your herds:

²⁴For riches are not forever,

Nor does even the crown endure to all generations.

²⁵The hay is removed, and the new growth appears,

The grasses of the hills are gathered in.

²⁶The lambs are for your clothing,

And the goats are the price of a field.

²⁷There will be plenty of goats' milk for your food,

For your family's food,

And for the nourishment of your servant girls.