Proverbs 27

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 deceitful are the ⁷kisses of an enemy.

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

8 Like a ⁸bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who ⁹wanders from his home.

9 ¹⁰Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man'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 naive proceed and pay the penalty.

13 ¹⁵Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous 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 restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps 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 ²⁰Sheol and Abaddon 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 condition 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.

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Proverbs 27 Commentary

Chapter 27

Verse 1 We know not what a day may bring forth. This does not forbid preparing for to-morrow, but presuming upon to-morrow. We must not put off the great work of conversion, that one thing needful. Verse 2 . There may be occasion for us to justify ourselves, ( proverbs 27:3-4 ) ( proverbs 27:5-6 ) rebukes are better, not only than secret hatred, but than love which compliments in sin, to the hurt of the soul. Verse 7 . The poor have a better relish of their enjoyments, and are often more thankful for them, than the rich. In like manner the proud and self-sufficient disdain the gospel; but those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, find comfort from the meanest book or sermon that testifies of Christ Jesus. Verse 8 . Every man has his proper place in society, where he may be safe and comfortable. ( proverbs 27:9-10 ) kindred's sake; apply to those who are at hand, and will help in need. But there is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and let us place entire confidence in him. Verse 11 . An affectionate parent urges his son to prudent conduct that should gladden his heart. The good conduct of Christians is the best answer to all who find fault with the gospel. Verse 12 . Where there is temptation, if we thrust ourselves into it, there will be sin, and punishment will follow. Verse 13 . An honest man may be made a beggar, but he is not honest that makes himself one. Verse 14 . It is folly to be fond of being praised; it is a temptation to pride. ( proverbs 27:15-16 ) shower, troublesome for a time; the contentions of a wife are like constant rain. Verse 17 . We are cautioned to take heed whom we converse with. And directed to have in view, in conversation, to make one another wiser and better. Verse 18 . Though a calling be laborious and despised, yet those who keep to it, will find there is something to be got by it. God is a Master who has engaged to honour those who serve him faithfully. Verse 19 . One corrupt heart is like another; so are sanctified hearts: the former bear the same image of the earthly, the latter the same image of the heavenly. Let us carefully watch our own hearts, comparing them with the word of God. Verse 20 . Two things are here said to be never satisfied, death and sin. The appetites of the carnal mind for profit or pleasure are always desiring more. Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord, are satisfied in him, and shall for ever be so. Verse 21 . Silver and gold are tried by putting them into the furnace and fining-pot; so is a man tried by praising him. Verse 22 . Some are so bad, that even severe methods do not answer the end; what remains but that they should be rejected? The new-creating power of God's grace alone is able to make a change. ( 23-27 ) . We ought to have some business to do in this world, and not to live in idleness, and not to meddle with what we do not understand. We must be diligent and take pains. Let us do what we can, still the world cannot be secured to us, therefore we must choose a more lasting portion; but by the blessing of God upon our honest labours, we may expect to enjoy as much of earthly blessings as is good for us.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 28

1. James 4:13-16
2. Luke 12:19, 20; James 4:14
3. Proverbs 25:27; 2 Corinthians 10:12, 18; 2 Corinthians 12:11
4. Proverbs 6:34; 1 John 3:12
5. Proverbs 28:23; Galatians 2:14
6. Psalms 141:5; Proverbs 20:30
7. Matthew 26:49
8. Proverbs 26:2; Isaiah 16:2
9. Genesis 21:14
10. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 141:5
11. Proverbs 18:24
12. 1 Kings 12:6-8; 2 Chronicles 10:6-8
13. Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 23:15; Proverbs 29:3
14. Psalms 119:42
15. Proverbs 20:16
16. Psalms 12:2
17. Proverbs 19:13
18. 2 Kings 18:31; Song of Songs 8:12; Isaiah 36:16; 1 Corinthians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Timothy 2:6
19. Luke 12:42-44; Luke 19:17
20. Job 26:6; Proverbs 15:11
21. Proverbs 30:15, 16; Habakkuk 2:5
22. Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 4:8
23. Proverbs 17:3
24. Luke 6:26
25. Proverbs 23:35; Proverbs 26:11; Jeremiah 5:3
26. Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:12; John 10:3
27. Job 19:9; Psalms 89:39; Jeremiah 13:18; Lamentations 5:16; Ezekiel 21:26
28. Isaiah 17:5; Jeremiah 40:10, 12

Footnotes 14

[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"
[l]. I.e. The nether world
[m]. I.e. the place of destruction
[n]. Lit "face"

Chapter Summary

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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible