27:1 DO NOT boast of [yourself and] tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth. |
27:2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. |
27:3 Stone is heavy and sand weighty, but a fool's [unreasoning] wrath is heavier {and} more intolerable than both of them. |
27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy? |
27:5 Open rebuke is better than love that is hidden. |
27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish {and} deceitful. |
27:7 He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes {and} treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. |
27:8 Like a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who strays from his home. |
27:9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart. |
27:10 Your own friend and your father's friend, forsake them not; neither go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near [in spirit] than a brother who is far off [in heart]. |
27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me [as having failed in my parental duty]. |
27:12 A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering]. |
27:13 [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners. |
27:14 The flatterer who loudly praises {and} glorifies his neighbor, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted as cursing him [for he will be suspected of sinister purposes]. |
27:15 A continual dripping on a day of violent showers and a contentious woman are alike; |
27:16 Whoever attempts to restrain [a contentious woman] might as well try to stop the wind--his right hand encounters oil [and she slips through his fingers]. |
27:17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend [to show rage or worthy purpose]. |
27:18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit; so he who patiently {and} faithfully guards {and} heeds his master shall be honored. |
27:19 As in water face answers to {and} reflects face, so the heart of man to man. |
27:20 Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the place of destruction) are never satisfied; so [the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied. |
27:21 As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts]. |
27:22 Even though like grain you should pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. |
27:23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds; |
27:24 For riches are not forever; does a crown endure to all generations? |
27:25 When the hay is gone, the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountain are gathered in, |
27:26 The lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats [will furnish you] the price of a field. |
27:27 And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your maids. |