Proverbs 27

27^*Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then.

²Let other people praise you—even strangers; never do it yourself.

³The weight of stone and sand is nothing compared to the trouble that stupidity can cause.

⁴Anger is cruel and destructive, but it is nothing compared to jealousy.

⁵Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don’t care for him at all.

⁶Friends mean well, even when they hurt you. But when an enemy puts an arm round your shoulder—watch out!

⁷When you are full, you will refuse honey, but when you are hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet.

⁸Anyone away from home is like a bird away from its nest.

⁹Perfume and fragrant oils make you feel happier, but trouble shatters your peace of mind.^r

¹⁰Do not forget your friends or your father’s friends. If you are in trouble, don’t ask a relative for help; a neighbour near by can help you more than relatives who are far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and I will be happy; I will have an answer for anyone who criticizes me.

¹²Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.

¹³Anyone stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger’s debts^s deserves to have his own property held to guarantee payment.

¹⁴You might as well curse your friends as wake them up early in the morning with a loud greeting.

¹⁵A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day. ¹⁶How can you keep her quiet? Have you ever tried to stop the wind or ever tried to hold a handful of oil?^t

¹⁷People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.

¹⁸Take care of a fig tree and you will have figs to eat. Servants who take care of their master will be honoured.

¹⁹It is your own face that you see reflected in the water and it is your own self that you see in your heart.

²⁰Human desires are like the world of the dead—there is always room for more.

²¹Fire tests gold and silver; a person’s reputation can also be tested.

²²Even if you beat fools until they’re half dead, you still can’t beat their foolishness out of them.

²³Look after your sheep and cattle as carefully as you can, ²⁴because wealth is not permanent. Not even nations last for ever. ²⁵You cut the hay and then cut the grass on the hillsides while the next crop of hay is growing. ²⁶You can make clothes from the wool of your sheep and buy land with the money you get from selling some of your goats. ²⁷The rest of the goats will provide milk for you and your family, and for your servant women as well.