27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. |
27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. |
27:3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. |
27:4 Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood, But who can stand before jealousy? |
27:5 Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed. |
27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. |
27:7 A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. |
27:8 Like a bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who wanders from his home. |
27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend. |
27:10 Do not forsake your own friend or your 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. |
27:11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, That I may reply to him who reproaches me. |
27:12 A prudent man sees evil {and} hides himself, The naive proceed {and} pay the penalty. |
27:13 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge. |
27:14 He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be reckoned a curse to him. |
27:15 A constant dripping on a day of steady rain And a contentious woman are alike; |
27:16 He who would restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand. |
27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. |
27:18 He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, And he who cares for his master will be honored. |
27:19 As in water face {reflects} face, So the heart of man {reflects} man. |
27:20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied. |
27:21 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each {is tested} by the praise accorded him. |
27:22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, {Yet} his foolishness will not depart from him. |
27:23 Know well the condition of your flocks, {And} pay attention to your herds; |
27:24 For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown {endure} to all generations. |
27:25 {When} the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, |
27:26 The lambs {will be} for your clothing, And the goats {will bring} the price of a field, |
27:27 And {there will be} goats' milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens. |