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27 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
    for you don’t know what a day will bring.
Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy and sand weighs much,
    but the nuisance of fools is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel and anger is a flood,
    but who can withstand jealousy?
A public correction is better than hidden love.
Trustworthy are the bruises of a friend;
    excessive are the kisses of an enemy.
Someone who is full refuses honey,
    but anything bitter tastes sweet to a hungry person.
Like a bird wandering from its nest,
    so is one who wanders from home.
Oil and incense make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of friends comes from their advice.[a]
10 Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
    don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
    Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
    so I can answer those who insult me.
12 Prudent people see evil and hide;
    the simpleminded go right to it and get punished.
13 Take the garment of the person who secures a loan for a stranger;
    take his pledge for a foreigner.
14 Greeting a neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning
    will be viewed as a curse.
15 The constant dripping on a rainy day
    and a contentious woman are alike;
16         anyone who can control her
        can control the wind
        or pick up oil in his hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens a friend.
18 Those who tend a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and those who look after their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
    so the heart reflects one person to another.
20 The grave[b] and the underworld[c] are never satisfied;
    and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 A crucible is for silver and a furnace for gold;
    so are people in the presence of someone who praises them.
22 Even if you grind fools in a mortar,
    even grinding them along with the grain,
    their folly won’t be driven from them.
23 Know your flock well;
    pay attention to your herds,
24         for no treasure lasts forever,
        nor a crown generation after generation.
25 When the grass goes away, new growth appears,
    and the plants of the hills are gathered,
26         then the lambs will provide your clothes,
        and the goats will be the price of your fields.
27 There will be enough goat’s milk for your food,
    for the food of your house,
    and to nourish your young women.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:9 Heb uncertain
  2. Proverbs 27:20 Heb Sheol
  3. Proverbs 27:20 Heb Abaddon

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