Proverbs 27:1-24 ▼

1 Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

3 A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.

8 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man's friend.

10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend. Do not go to your brother's house in the day of your disaster: better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.

12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman.

14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.

15 A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:

16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.

17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend's countenance.

18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.

19 As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.

20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man's eyes are never satisfied.

21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

23 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:

24 for riches are not forever, nor does even the crown endure to all generations.