Proverbs 27–29

CHAPTER 27

Instructions and Warnings

^1aDo not boast about tomorrow,

For you ^bdo not know what a day may bring forth.

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

A foreigner, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,

But the provocation of an ignorant fool is heavier than both of them.

⁴Wrath is cruelty and anger is a flood,

But ^awho can stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is reproof that is ^arevealed

Than love that is hidden.

⁶Faithful are the ^awounds of a friend,

But ¹deceitful are the ^bkisses of an enemy.

⁷A satisfied soul tramples the honeycomb,

But to a hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a ^abird that wanders from her nest,

So is a man who ^bwanders from his place.

^9aOil and incense make the heart glad,

So counsel from the ¹soul is sweet to his friend.

¹⁰Do not forsake your ^afriend or ^byour father’s friend,

And do not come to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;

Better is one who dwells near than a brother far away.

^11aBe wise, my son, and make my heart glad,

That I may ^brespond with a word to him who reproaches me.

¹²A prudent man sees evil and hides,

The simple pass on and are punished.

^13aTake his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;

And for ¹a foreign woman seize it as a pledge.

^14aHe who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,

It will be counted as a curse to him.

¹⁵A ^aconstant dripping on a day of steady rain

And a contentious woman are alike;

¹⁶He who would ¹restrain her ²restrains the wind,

And ³grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.

¹⁸He who guards the ^afig tree will eat its fruit,

And he who ^bkeeps watch for his master will be honored.

¹⁹As in water face reflects face,

So the heart of man reflects man.

^20aSheol and Abaddon are ^bnever satisfied,

So the ^ceyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹The ^arefining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

And each ^bis tested by the mouth that praises him.

²²Though you ^apound an ignorant fool in a mortar with a pestle in the midst of crushed grain,

His ¹folly will not turn aside from him.

^23aKnow well the ¹condition of your flocks,

And pay attention to your herds;

²⁴For wealth is not forever,

Neither is a ^acrown from generation to generation.

²⁵When the grass disappears and the vegetation appears,

And the herbs of the mountains are ^agathered in,

²⁶The lambs will be for your clothing,

And the goats will bring the price of a field,

²⁷And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,

For the food of your household,

And sustenance for your maidens.

CHAPTER 28

¹The wicked ^aflee when there is no one pursuing,

But the righteous are ¹secure as a lion.

²By the transgression of a land ^amany are its princes,

But ^bby a man who understands, who knows, so it endures.

³A ^apoor man who oppresses the lowly

Is a driving rain ¹which leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law ^apraise the wicked,

But those who keep the law ^bstrive with them.

⁵Evil men ^ado not understand justice,

But those who seek Yahweh ^bunderstand all things.

^6aBetter is the poor who walks in his integrity

Than he who is crooked—¹double dealing—though he be rich.

⁷He who observes the law is a son who understands,

But he who befriends ^agluttons humiliates his father.

⁸He who increases his wealth by ^ainterest and usury

Gathers it ^bfor him who is gracious to the lowly.

⁹He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,

Even his ^aprayer is an abomination.

¹⁰He who leads the upright astray in an evil way

Will ^ahimself fall into his own pit,

But the ^bblameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is ^awise in his own eyes,

But the lowly who understands ¹searches him.

¹²When the ^arighteous exult, there is great honor,

But ^bwhen the wicked rise, man has to be sought out.

¹³He who ^aconceals his transgressions will not prosper,

But he who ^bconfesses and forsakes them will receive compassion.

¹⁴How blessed is the man who ^ais always in dread,

But he who ^bhardens his heart will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a ^aroaring lion and a rushing bear

Is a ^bwicked ruler over a poor people.

¹⁶A ^aleader who lacks discernment abounds in oppressions,

But he who hates greedy gain will prolong his days.

¹⁷A man ^aoppressed with ^bthe bloodguilt of life

Will flee until ¹death; let no one uphold him.

¹⁸He who walks blamelessly will be saved,

But he who is ^acrooked—¹double dealing—will fall all at once.

^19aHe who cultivates his ground will be ^bsatisfied with food,

But he who pursues empty things will be satisfied with poverty.

²⁰A ^afaithful man will abound with blessings,

But he who ^bmakes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To ^1ashow partiality is not good,

^bEven for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

²²A man with an ^aevil eye ^bhurries after wealth

And does not know that want will come upon him.

²³He who ^areproves a man will afterward find more favor

Than he who ^bflatters with the tongue.

²⁴He who ^arobs his father or his mother

And says, “It is not a transgression,”

Is the ^bcompanion of a man who destroys.

²⁵An ¹arrogant man ^astirs up strife,

But he who ^btrusts in Yahweh ^cwill ²be enriched.

²⁶He who ^atrusts in his own heart is a fool,

But he who walks wisely will escape.

²⁷He who ^agives to the poor will never want,

But he who ¹shuts his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, men hide themselves;

But when they perish, the righteous increase.

CHAPTER 29

¹A man who hardens his neck after ^amuch reproof

Will ^bsuddenly be broken ¹beyond healing.

²When the ^arighteous ¹increase, the people are glad,

But when a wicked man rules, people groan.

³A man who ^aloves wisdom makes his father glad,

But he who ^bbefriends harlots destroys his wealth.

⁴By justice the ^aking causes the land to stand,

But a man of bribes tears it down.

⁵A man who ^aflatters his neighbor

Is spreading a net for his steps.

⁶By transgression an evil man is ^aensnared,

But the righteous ^bsings with joy and is glad.

⁷The ^arighteous knows the cause of the poor,

The wicked does not understand that knowledge.

⁸Scoffers ^1aset a city aflame,

But ^bwise men turn away anger.

⁹When a wise man is brought into judgment with a man who is an ignorant fool,

¹The ignorant fool both rages and laughs, and there is no rest.

¹⁰Men of ^abloodshed hate the blameless,

But the upright seek the well-being of his soul.

¹¹A ^afool ¹lets out all of his spirit,

But a ^bwise man holds it back.

¹²If a ^aruler pays attention to a lying word,

All his ministers become wicked.

¹³The ^apoor man and the oppressor meet together in this—

Yahweh gives ^blight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a ^aking judges the poor with truth,

His ^bthrone will be established forever.

¹⁵The ^arod and reproof give wisdom,

But a child ¹left to himself ^bbrings shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked ¹increase, transgression increases;

But the ^arighteous will see their fall.

^17aDiscipline your son, and he will give you rest;

And he will ^bgive delight to your soul.

¹⁸Where there is ^ano ¹vision, the people ^bare out of control,

But how ^cblessed is he who keeps the law.

¹⁹A slave will not be corrected by words alone;

For though he understands, there will be no answer.

²⁰Do you behold a man who is ^ahasty in his words?

There is ^bmore hope for a fool than for him.

²¹He who pampers his slave from childhood

Will in the end find him to be ¹arrogant.

²²An ^aangry man stirs up strife,

And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

²³A man’s ^alofty pride will bring him low,

But a ^blowly spirit will take hold of glory.

²⁴He who ¹divides the spoil with a thief hates his own soul;

He ^ahears the oath but declares nothing.

^25aTrembling before man ¹brings a snare,

But he who ^btrusts in Yahweh will be set securely on high.

^26aMany seek the face of a ruler,

But ^bjustice for man comes from Yahweh.

²⁷An ^aunjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

And he who is ^bupright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.