Warnings and Instructions
27 (A)Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you (B)do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Let (C)another 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 (D)who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is (E)open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful are the (F)wounds of a friend,
But [a]deceitful are the (G)kisses of an enemy.
7 A sated [b]man [c]loathes honey,
But to a famished [d]man any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a (H)bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who (I)wanders from his [e]home.
9 (J)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
So a [f]man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
10 Do not forsake your own (K)friend or (L)your 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 (M)Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
That I may (N)reply to him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself,
The [g]naive proceed and pay the penalty.
13 (O)Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;
And for an [h]adulterous woman hold him in pledge.
14 (P)He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be reckoned a curse to him.
15 A (Q)constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 He who would [i]restrain her [j]restrains the wind,
And [k]grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends the (R)fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who (S)cares for his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20 [l](T)Sheol and [m]Abaddon are (U)never satisfied,
Nor are the (V)eyes of man ever satisfied.
21 The (W)crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each (X)is tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you (Y)pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
23 (Z)Know well the [n]condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a (AA)crown endure to all generations.
25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are (AB)gathered 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.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:6 Or excessive
- Proverbs 27:7 Lit soul
- Proverbs 27:7 Lit tramples on
- Proverbs 27:7 Lit soul
- Proverbs 27:8 Lit place
- Proverbs 27:9 Lit soul’s
- Proverbs 27:12 Lit simple
- Proverbs 27:13 Lit strange
- Proverbs 27:16 Lit hide(s)
- Proverbs 27:16 Lit hide(s)
- Proverbs 27:16 Lit encounters
- Proverbs 27:20 I.e. The nether world
- Proverbs 27:20 I.e. the place of destruction
- Proverbs 27:23 Lit face
Cross references
- Proverbs 27:1 : James 4:13-16
- Proverbs 27:1 : Luke 12:19, 20; James 4:14
- Proverbs 27:2 : Prov 25:27; 2 Cor 10:12, 18; 12:11
- Proverbs 27:4 : Prov 6:34; 1 John 3:12
- Proverbs 27:5 : Prov 28:23; Gal 2:14
- Proverbs 27:6 : Ps 141:5; Prov 20:30
- Proverbs 27:6 : Matt 26:49
- Proverbs 27:8 : Prov 26:2; Is 16:2
- Proverbs 27:8 : Gen 21:14
- Proverbs 27:9 : Ps 23:5; 141:5
- Proverbs 27:10 : Prov 18:24
- Proverbs 27:10 : 1 Kin 12:6-8; 2 Chr 10:6-8
- Proverbs 27:11 : Prov 10:1; 23:15; 29:3
- Proverbs 27:11 : Ps 119:42
- Proverbs 27:13 : Prov 20:16
- Proverbs 27:14 : Ps 12:2
- Proverbs 27:15 : Prov 19:13
- Proverbs 27:18 : 2 Kin 18:31; Song 8:12; Is 36:16; 1 Cor 3:8; 9:7; 2 Tim 2:6
- Proverbs 27:18 : Luke 12:42-44; 19:17
- Proverbs 27:20 : Job 26:6; Prov 15:11
- Proverbs 27:20 : Prov 30:15, 16; Hab 2:5
- Proverbs 27:20 : Eccl 1:8; 4:8
- Proverbs 27:21 : Prov 17:3
- Proverbs 27:21 : Luke 6:26
- Proverbs 27:22 : Prov 23:35; 26:11; Jer 5:3
- Proverbs 27:23 : Jer 31:10; Ezek 34:12; John 10:3
- Proverbs 27:24 : Job 19:9; Ps 89:39; Jer 13:18; Lam 5:16; Ezek 21:26
- Proverbs 27:25 : Is 17:5; Jer 40:10, 12