Do Not Boast about Tomorrow

1Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2Let another man praise thee, and not thy own mouth; a stranger, and not thy own lips.

3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than both.

4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

5Open rebuke is better than secret love.

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

7The full soul lotheth a honey-comb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

10Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off.

11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

12A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

15A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

16Whoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand which bewrayeth itself.

17Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18He that keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit of it: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.

19As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

22Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

24For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

25The plant appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27And thou shalt have goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for maintenance for thy maidens.