Proverbs 27:6-17

6 Faithful are the ¹wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the ²kisses of an enemy.

7 A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet.

8 Like a ³bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who ⁴wanders from his home.

9 ⁵Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend.

10 Do not forsake your own ⁶friend or ⁷your 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 ⁸Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, That I may ⁹reply * to him who reproaches me.

12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty.

13 ¹⁰Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge.

14 ¹¹He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be reckoned a curse to him.

15 A ¹²constant dripping on a day of steady rain And a contentious woman are alike;

16 He who would restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand.

17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another *.

Proverbs 27:6-17 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.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 141:5; Proverbs 20:30
• 2. Matthew 26:49
• 3. Proverbs 26:2; Isaiah 16:2
• 4. Genesis 21:14
• 5. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 141:5
• 6. Proverbs 18:24
• 7. 1 Kings 12:6-8; 2 Chronicles 10:6-8
• 8. Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 23:15; Proverbs 29:3
• 9. Psalms 119:42
• 10. Proverbs 20:16
• 11. Psalms 12:2
• 12. Proverbs 19:13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "excessive"
• [b]. Lit "soul"
• [c]. Lit "tramples on"
• [d]. Lit "soul"
• [e]. Lit "place"
• [f]. Lit "soul's"
• [g]. Lit "simple"
• [h]. Lit "strange"
• [i]. Lit "hide(s)"
• [j]. Lit "hide(s)"
• [k]. Lit "encounters"