Chapter 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what any day may bring forth.
2 Let another praise you, not your own mouth;
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 Stone is heavy, and sand a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.(A)
4 Anger is cruel, and wrath overwhelming,
but before jealousy who can stand?
5 Better is an open rebuke
than a love that remains hidden.
6 Trustworthy are the blows of a friend,
dangerous, the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full spurns honey;
but to the hungry, any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird far from the nest
so is anyone far from home.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
but by grief the soul is torn asunder.
10 Do not give up your own friend and your father’s friend;
do not resort to the house of your kindred when trouble strikes.
Better a neighbor near than kin far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,
so that I can answer whoever taunts me.
12 The astute see an evil and hide;
the naive continue on and pay the penalty.(B)
13 Take the garment of the one who became surety for a stranger;(C)
if for a foreign woman, exact the pledge!
14 Those who greet their neighbor with a loud voice in the early morning,
a curse can be laid to their charge.
15 For a persistent leak on a rainy day
the match is a quarrelsome wife;(D)
16 Whoever would hide her hides a stormwind
and cannot tell north from south.
17 Iron is sharpened by iron;
one person sharpens another.
18 Those who tend a fig tree eat its fruit;
so those attentive to their master will be honored.
19 As face mirrors face in water,
so the heart reflects the person.
20 Sheol and Abaddon can never be satisfied;(E)
so the eyes of mortals can never be satisfied.
21 The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold,
so you must assay the praise you receive.
22 Though you pound fools with a pestle,
their folly never leaves them.
23 Take good care of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;
24 For wealth does not last forever,
nor even a crown from age to age.
25 When the grass comes up and the new growth appears,
and the mountain greens are gathered in,
26 The lambs will provide you with clothing,
and the goats, the price of a field,
27 And there will be ample goat’s milk for your food,
food for your house, sustenance for your maidens.
Footnotes
- 27:4
- 27:5–6
- 27:6
- 27:8
- 27:10
- 27:11
- 27:13
- 27:14
- 27:17
- 27:20
- 27:23–27
Cross references
- 27:3 : Sir 22:14–15.
- 27:12 : Prv 22:3.
- 27:13 : Prv 20:16.
- 27:15 : Prv 21:9; 25:24.
- 27:20 : Prv 30:16; Eccl 4:8.
