Proverbs 27:15–22
15 qA continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp3 oil in one’s right hand.
and one man sharpens another.4
18 rWhoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who sguards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 tSheol and Abaddon are unever satisfied,
and vnever satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 wThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 xCrush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — The New International Version (NIV)
15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever protects their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
so one’s life reflects the heart.
20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
and neither are human eyes.
21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but people are tested by their praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
grinding them like grain with a pestle,
you will not remove their folly from them.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike.
16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind,
And the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron;
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof:
So he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19 As in water face answereth to face,
So the heart of man to man.
20 Hell and destruction are never full;
So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold;
So is a man to his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,
Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — New Living Translation (NLT)
15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
so the heart reflects the real person.
20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.
21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised.
22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
15 A continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 Whoever 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 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 and 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.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — New Century Version (NCV)
15 A quarreling wife is as bothersome
as a continual dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her is like stopping the wind
or trying to grab oil in your hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so people can improve each other.
18 Whoever tends a fig tree gets to eat its fruit,
and whoever takes care of his master will receive honor.
19 As water reflects your face,
so your mind shows what kind of person you are.
20 People will never stop dying and being destroyed,
and they will never stop wanting more than they have.
21 A hot furnace tests silver and gold,
and people are tested by the praise they receive.
22 Even if you ground up a foolish person like grain in a bowl,
you couldn’t remove the foolishness.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — American Standard Version (ASV)
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike:
16 He that would restrain her restraineth the wind;
And his right hand encountereth oil.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron;
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof;
And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
19 As in water face answereth to face,
So the heart of man to man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;
And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
And a man is tried by his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain,
Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
15 A continual dropping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike: 16 whosoever will restrain her restraineth the wind, and his right hand encountereth oil.
17 Iron is sharpened by iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; and he that guardeth his master shall be honoured.
19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
20 Sheol and destruction are insatiable; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; so let a man be to the mouth that praiseth him.
22 If thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his folly depart from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
15 Constantly dripping water on a rainy day is like a quarreling woman.
16 Whoever can control her can control the wind.
He can even pick up olive oil with his right hand.
17 ⸤As⸥ iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens the wits of another.
18 Whoever takes care of a fig tree can eat its fruit,
and whoever protects his master is honored.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
so a person is reflected by his heart.
20 Hell and decay are never satisfied,
and a person’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 The crucible is for refining silver and the smelter for gold,
but a person ⸤is tested⸥ by the praise given to him.
22 If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
⸤even then⸥ his stupidity will not leave him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 An endless dripping on a rainy day
and a nagging wife are alike.
16 The one who controls her controls the wind
and grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever looks after his master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
so the heart reflects the person.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold,
and a man for the words of his praise.
22 Though you grind a fool
in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
you will not separate his foolishness from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in the right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens the wits of another.
18 Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored.
19 Just as water reflects the face,
so one human heart reflects another.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and human eyes are never satisfied.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
so a person is tested by being praised.
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
but the folly will not be driven out.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
15 Dripping constantly on a day of heavy rain
and a woman of contention are alike.
16 In restraining her, he restrains wind,
and his right hand will grasp oil.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As the waters reflect face to face,
so the heart of a person reflects the person.
20 Sheol and Abaddon will not be satisfied,
and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied either.
21 A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace for the gold,
but a man is tested by the mouth of him who praises him.
22 If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle along with the crushed grain,
it will not drive folly from upon him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
15 A nagging wife is like
dripping that never stops on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her is like trying to stop the wind.
It’s like trying to grab oil with your hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
18 A person who takes good care of a fig tree will eat its fruit.
And a person who looks after his master will be honored.
19 When you look into water, you see a likeness of your face.
When you look into your heart, you see what you are really like.
20 Death and the Grave are never satisfied.
A man’s eyes are never satisfied either.
21 Fire tests silver. Heat tests gold.
But a man is tested by the praise he receives.
22 You can grind a foolish person in a mill.
You can grind him as you would grind grain with a tool.
But you can’t remove his foolishness from him.
Proverbs 27:15–22 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
15 A constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 He who would restrain her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who cares for his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
21 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each is tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.