Proverbs 27:5-15

5 Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don't care for him at all.

6 Friends mean well, even when they hurt you. But when an enemy puts his arm around your shoulder - watch out!

7 When you are full, you will refuse honey, but when you are hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet.

8 Anyone away from home is like a bird away from its nest.

9 Perfume and fragrant oils make you feel happier, but trouble shatters your peace of mind.

10 Do not forget your friends or your father's friends. If you are in trouble, don't ask a relative for help; a nearby neighbor can help you more than relatives who are far away.

11 Be wise, my child, and I will be happy; I will have an answer for anyone who criticizes me.

12 Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.

13 Any people stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger's debts deserve to have their own property held to guarantee payment.

14 You might as well curse your friends as wake them up early in the morning with a loud greeting.

15 A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day.

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. [One ancient translation] but trouble . . . mind; [Hebrew unclear.]
• [b]. [One ancient translation] stranger's debts; [Hebrew] stranger's debts or those of an immoral woman.