27 Don’t brag about tomorrow;
you don’t know what ·may happen then [L the day may bear/ bring forth].
2 Don’t praise yourself. Let ·someone else [another; a stranger] do it.
Let the praise come from a ·stranger [outsider] and not from your own mouth [Jer. 9:23–24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17].
3 Stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but ·a complaining fool [or the irritation/frustration caused by a fool] is ·heavier [worse] than either.
4 Anger is cruel and destroys like a flood,
but no one can ·put up with [L stand in the face of] jealousy!
5 It is better to correct someone ·openly [publicly]
than to have love and ·not show [hide] it.
6 The ·slap [bruises] of a friend can be trusted to help you,
but the kisses of an enemy are ·nothing but lies [or dangerous; Matt. 26:48–50].
7 When you are ·full [sated], not even honey tastes good,
but when you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.
8 A person who ·leaves [L wanders from] his home
is like a bird that ·leaves [L wanders from] its nest.
9 The sweet smell of perfume and oils is pleasant,
and so is good advice from a friend.
10 Don’t ·forget [abandon] your friend or your parent’s friend.
Don’t always go to your ·family for help [brother] when trouble comes.
A neighbor close by is better than a ·family [brother] far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and make ·me [L my heart] happy.
Then I can respond to any insult.
12 The ·wise [prudent] see ·danger [evil; trouble] ahead and avoid it,
but fools ·keep going [go straight to it] and ·get into trouble [or are punished].
13 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s loan,
and keep it until he pays what the ·stranger [L foreigner] owes.
14 If you loudly ·greet [bless] your neighbor early in the morning,
he will think of it as a curse.
15 A ·quarreling [contentious] wife is as bothersome
as a continual dripping on a rainy day.
16 ·Stopping [Controlling; Restraining] her is like ·stopping [controlling; restraining] the wind
or trying to grab oil in your hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so people ·can improve each other [sharpen their friends].
18 Whoever ·tends [protects] a fig tree gets to eat its fruit,
and whoever ·takes care of [guards] his master will receive honor.
19 As water reflects your face,
so ·your mind shows what kind of person you are [the heart reflects a person].
20 ·People will never stop dying and being destroyed [L Sheol/The grave and Abaddon/Destruction are never satisfied; Job 26:6],
and ·they will never stop wanting more than they have [L the eyes of people will never be satisfied].
21 A ·hot furnace tests silver and gold [crucible for silver and a furnace for gold],
and people ·are tested by the praise they receive [L in the presence of those who praise them].
22 Even if you ground up a foolish person like grain in a bowl,
you couldn’t remove the foolishness.
23 Be sure you know how your sheep are doing,
and ·pay attention to the condition of [L set your heart on] your cattle.
24 ·Riches [Treasure] will not go on forever,
nor ·do governments go on [a crown/diadem] forever.
25 When the grass is gone and the new grass appears,
gather the ·grass [vegetation] from the hills.
26 Make clothes from the lambs’ wool,
and sell some goats ·to buy [L for the price of] a field.
27 There will be plenty of goat’s milk
to feed you and your ·family [L house]
and to make your ·servant [or young] girls healthy.