Proverbs 27:1–17

Do not boast about tomorrow,

^yfor you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let ^zanother praise you, and not your own mouth;

a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but ^aa fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before ^bjealousy?

^5cBetter is open rebuke

than hidden love.

⁶Faithful are ^dthe wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

⁷One who is full loathes ^ehoney,

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

⁸Like ^fa bird that strays from its nest

is a man who strays from his home.

^9gOil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.¹

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend and ^hyour father’s friend,

and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.

ⁱBetter is a neighbor who is near

than a brother who is far away.

^11jBe wise, ^kmy son, and ^lmake my heart glad,

that I may ^manswer him who reproaches me.

¹²ⁿThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but ^othe simple go on and suffer for it.

^13pTake 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.²

¹⁴Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

^15qA continual dripping on a rainy day

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

¹⁶to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp³ oil in one’s right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.⁴