Proverbs 27:5-15

5 A spoken reprimand is better than approval that's never expressed.
6 The wounds from a lover are worth it; kisses from an enemy do you in.
7 When you've stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert; when you're starved, you could eat a horse.
8 People who won't settle down, wandering hither and yon, are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10 Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends and run home to your family when things get rough; Better a nearby friend than a distant family.
11 Become wise, dear child, and make me happy; then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger; be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14 If you wake your friend in the early morning by shouting "Rise and shine!" It will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing.
15 A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;

Proverbs 27:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 14

This chapter relates the sickness of Jeroboam's son, the application of his wife, at his instance, to the prophet Ahijah, in the child's favour, 1Ki 14:1-6, the prophecy of the prophet concerning the ruin of Jeroboam's house, and the death of the child, which came to pass, 1Ki 14:7-18, an account of the years of Jeroboam's reign, and also of Rehoboam's, 1Ki 14:19-21, and of the evil things done and suffered by the latter in his kingdom, and the calamities that came upon him for it, 1Ki 14:22-28 and the conclusion of his reign, 1Ki 14:29-31.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.