Proverbs 27

1 Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.

2 Don't call attention to yourself; let others do that for you.

3 Carrying a log across your shoulders while you're hefting a boulder with your arms Is nothing compared to the burden of putting up with a fool.

4 We're blasted by anger and swamped by rage, but who can survive jealousy?

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;

16 You can't turn it off, and you can't get away from it. Your Face Mirrors Your Heart

17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.

18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.

19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.

20 Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.

21 The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.

22 Pound on a fool all you like - you can't pound out foolishness.

23 Know your sheep by name; carefully attend to your flocks;

24 (Don't take them for granted; possessions don't last forever, you know.)

25 And then, when the crops are in and the harvest is stored in the barns,

26 You can knit sweaters from lambs' wool, and sell your goats for a profit;

27 There will be plenty of milk and meat to last your family through the winter.

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.

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.