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;[#2 Cor. 10:12, 18; 25:27; 2 Cor. 12:11]

a stranger, and not your own lips.

3A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before jealousy?

5Better is open rebuke[#28:23]

than hidden love.

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend;[#Ps. 141:5]

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7One who is full loathes honey,[#25:16]

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

8Like a bird that strays from its nest[#26:2]

is a man who strays from his home.

9Oil and perfume make the heart glad,[#Ps. 23:5]

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

10Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,[#1 Kgs. 12:6-8; 2 Chr. 10:6-8]

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 who is far away.

11Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,[#6:6; #10:1; 23:15, 24; #29:3]

that I may answer him who reproaches me.

12The prudent sees danger and hides himself,[#22:3]

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

13Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,[#20:16]

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.

14Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

15A continual dripping on a rainy day[#19:13]

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

16to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.

17Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.

18Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,[#Song 8:12; 1 Cor. 3:8; 9:7; 2 Tim. 2:6]

and he who guards his master will be honored.

19As in water face reflects face,

so the heart of man reflects the man.

20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,[#15:11; Job 26:6; #30:15, 16; Hab. 2:5; 1:12]

and never satisfied are the eyes of man.

21The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,[#17:3]

and a man is tested by his praise.

22Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle[#23:35; Isa. 1:5; Jer. 5:3]

along with crushed grain,

yet his folly will not depart from him.

23Know well the condition of your flocks,[#John 10:3, 14; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2, 4]

and give attention to your herds,

24for riches do not last forever;[#23:5]

and does a crown endure to all generations?

25When the grass is gone and the new growth appears[#Ps. 37:2; 90:5, 6]

and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,

26the lambs will provide your clothing,[#1 Tim. 6:8]

and the goats the price of a field.

27There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,[#26]

for the food of your household

and maintenance for your girls.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Published by: Crossway / Good News Publishers