Proverbs 27

¹Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth — a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand [is] a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁴Wrath [is] cruel and anger [is] like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

⁵Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.

⁶The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful.

⁷The soul that is full loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that strays from its nest [is] a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the counsel of a friend [is] sweetness to the soul.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, so that I can answer him who taunts me.

¹²The prudent see danger and take cover, [but] the simple keep going [and] pay the penalty.

¹³Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁴If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike —

¹⁶restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

¹⁸Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the true man.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man [is tested] by the praise accorded him.

²²Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar [and] a pestle, [yet] his folly will not depart from him.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches [are] not forever, nor does a crown [endure] to every generation.

²⁵When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered,

²⁶the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.

²⁷You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you — food for your household and nourishment for your maidservants.