Chapter 27

Warnings and Instructions

1 aDo not boast about tomorrow,

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

2 Let aanother praise you, and not your own mouth;

A stranger, and not your own lips.

3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,

But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.

4 Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood,

But awho can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is aopen rebuke

Than love that is concealed.

6 Faithful are the awounds of a friend,

But 1deceitful are the bkisses of an enemy.

7 A sated 1man 2loathes honey,

But to a famished 1man any bitter thing is sweet.

8 Like a abird that wanders from her nest,

So is a man who bwanders from his 1home.

9 aOil and perfume make the heart glad,

So a 1man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.

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

And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;

Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

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

That I may breply to him who reproaches me.

12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself,

The 1naive proceed and pay the penalty.

13 aTake his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;

And for an 1adulterous woman hold him in pledge.

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

It will be reckoned a curse to him.

15 A aconstant dripping on a day of steady rain

And a contentious woman are alike;

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

And 2grasps oil with his right hand.

17 Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.

18 He who tends the afig tree will eat its fruit,

And he who bcares for his master will be honored.

19 As in water face reflects face,

So the heart of man reflects man.

20 1aSheol and 2Abaddon are bnever satisfied,

Nor are the ceyes of man ever satisfied.

21 The acrucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,

And each bis tested by the praise accorded him.

22 Though you apound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,

Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

23 aKnow well the 1condition of your flocks,

And pay attention to your herds;

24 For riches are not forever,

Nor does a acrown endure to all generations.

25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,

And the herbs of the mountains are agathered in,

26 The lambs will be for your clothing,

And the goats will bring the price of a field,

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

For the food of your household,

And sustenance for your maidens.