Proverbs 27

27Do ^anot boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

^2bLet another man praise you, and not your own mouth;

A stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,

But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.

⁴Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent,

But ^cwho is able to stand before jealousy?

^5dOpen rebuke is better

Than love carefully concealed.

⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

But the kisses of an enemy are ^edeceitful.

⁷A satisfied soul ¹loathes the honeycomb,

But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that wanders from its nest

Is a man who wanders from his place.

⁹Ointment and perfume delight the heart,

And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by ²hearty counsel.

¹⁰Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,

Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;

^fBetter is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,

^gThat I may answer him who reproaches me.

¹²A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;

The simple pass on and are ^hpunished.

¹³Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,

And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.

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

It will be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵A ⁱcontinual dripping on a very rainy day

And a contentious woman are alike;

¹⁶Whoever ³restrains her restrains the wind,

And grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron,

So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

^18jWhoever ⁴keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit;

So he who waits on his master will be honored.

¹⁹As in water face reflects face,

So a man’s heart reveals the man.

^20kHell ⁵and ⁶Destruction are never full;

So ^lthe eyes of man are never satisfied.

^21mThe refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

And a man is valued by what others say of him.

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

Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

²³Be diligent to know the state of your ^oflocks,

And attend to your herds;

²⁴For riches are not forever,

Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

^25pWhen the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,

And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,

²⁶The lambs will provide your clothing,

And the goats the price of a field;

²⁷You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food,

For the food of your household,

And the nourishment of your maidservants.