Proverbs 27 (New American Standard)

Warnings and Instructions

1 ¹Do not boast about tomorrow, For you ²do not know what a day may bring forth. 2 Let ³another praise you, and not your own mouth ; A stranger, and not your own lips. 3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. 4 Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood, But ⁴who can stand before jealousy ? 5 Better is ⁵open rebuke Than love that is concealed. 6 Faithful are the ⁶wounds of a friend, But ^adeceitful are the ⁷kisses of an enemy. 7 A sated ^bman ^cloathes honey, But to a famished ^dman any bitter thing is sweet. 8 Like a ⁸bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who ⁹wanders from his ^ehome. 9 ¹⁰Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a ^fman's counsel is sweet to his friend. 10 Do not forsake your own ¹¹friend or ¹²your father's friend, 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 far away. 11 ¹³Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, That I may ¹⁴reply to him who reproaches me. 12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The ^gnaive proceed and pay the penalty. 13 ¹⁵Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger ; And for an ^hadulterous woman hold him in pledge. 14 ¹⁶He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be reckoned a curse to him. 15 A ¹⁷constant dripping on a day of steady rain And a contentious woman are alike ; 16 He who would ⁱrestrain her ^jrestrains the wind, And ^kgrasps oil with his right hand. 17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another . 18 He who tends the ¹⁸fig tree will eat its fruit, And he who ¹⁹cares for his master will be honored. 19 As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man. 20 ^l20Sheol and ^mAbaddon are ²¹never satisfied, Nor are the ²²eyes of man ever satisfied. 21 The ²³crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each ²⁴is tested by the praise accorded him. 22 Though you ²⁵pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. 23 ²⁶Know well the ⁿcondition of your flocks, And pay attention to your herds ; 24 For riches are not forever, Nor does a ²⁷crown endure to all generations. 25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, And the herbs of the mountains are ²⁸gathered in, 26 The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field, 27 And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens.