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27 Don’t brag about your plans for tomorrow—wait and see what happens.

Don’t praise yourself; let others do it!

A rebel’s frustrations are heavier than sand and rocks.

Jealousy is more dangerous and cruel than anger.

Open rebuke is better than hidden love!

Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy!

Even honey seems tasteless to a man who is full; but if he is hungry, he’ll eat anything!

A man who strays from home is like a bird that wanders from its nest.

Friendly suggestions are as pleasant as perfume.

10 Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. Then you won’t need to go to a distant relative for help in your time of need.

11 My son, how happy I will be if you turn out to be sensible! It will be a public honor to me.

12 A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.

13 The world’s poorest credit risk is the man who agrees to pay a stranger’s debts.

14 If you shout a pleasant greeting to a friend too early in the morning, he will count it as a curse!

15 A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike! 16 You can no more stop her complaints than you can stop the wind or hold onto anything with greasy hands.

17 A friendly discussion is as stimulating as the sparks that fly when iron strikes iron.

18 A workman may eat from the orchard he tends; anyone should be rewarded who protects another’s interests.

19 A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.

20 Ambition[a] and death are alike in this: neither is ever satisfied.

21 The purity of silver and gold can be tested in a crucible, but a man is tested by his reaction to men’s praise.

22 You can’t separate a rebel from his foolishness though you crush him to powder.

23-24 Riches can disappear fast. And the king’s crown doesn’t stay in his family forever—so watch your business[b] interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds; 25-27 then there will be lambs’ wool enough for clothing and goats’ milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:20 Ambition, literally, “A man’s eyes.” Possibly the reference is to lust.
  2. Proverbs 27:23 business, implied.

27 Do not boast(A) about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.(B)

Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
    an outsider, and not your own lips.(C)

Stone is heavy and sand(D) a burden,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?(E)

Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.(F)

One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Like a bird that flees its nest(G)
    is anyone who flees from home.

Perfume(H) and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster(I) strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;(J)
    then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.(K)

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.(L)

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.(M)

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse.

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping(N)
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand.

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

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,(O)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.(P)

19 As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.[a]

20 Death and Destruction[b] are never satisfied,(Q)
    and neither are human eyes.(R)

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,(S)
    but people are tested by their praise.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
    grinding them like grain with a pestle,
    you will not remove their folly from them.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,(T)
    give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,(U)
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:19 Or so others reflect your heart back to you
  2. Proverbs 27:20 Hebrew Abaddon