Proverbs 27
¹ Boast not thyself of to-morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
² Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.
³ A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both.
⁴ Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?
⁵ Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.
⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
⁷ The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
⁸ As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.
⁹ Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
¹⁰ Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; And go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
¹¹ My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that reproacheth me.
¹² A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
¹³ Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for a foreign woman.
¹⁴ He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him.
¹⁵ A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike:
¹⁶ He that would restrain her restraineth the wind; And his right hand encountereth oil.
¹⁷ Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
¹⁸ Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
¹⁹ As in water face answereth to face, So the heart of man to man.
²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
²¹ The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; And a man is tried by his praise.
²² Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
²³ Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds:
²⁴ For riches are not for ever; And doth the crown endure unto all generations?
²⁵ The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
²⁶ The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field;
²⁷ And there will be goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, And maintenance for thy maidens.