27 Do not boast^(A) about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.^(B)

² Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
    an outsider, and not your own lips.^(C)

³ Stone is heavy and sand^(D) a burden,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

⁴ Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?^(E)

⁵ Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.

⁶ Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.^(F)

⁷ One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that flees its nest^(G)
    is anyone who flees from home.

⁹ Perfume^(H) and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.

¹⁰ Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster^(I) strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

¹¹ Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;^(J)
    then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.^(K)

¹² The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.^(L)

¹³ Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.^(M)

¹⁴ If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse.

¹⁵ A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping^(N)
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
¹⁶ restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.

¹⁸ The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,^(O)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.^(P)

¹⁹ As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.^[a]

²⁰ Death and Destruction^[b] are never satisfied,^(Q)
    and neither are human eyes.^(R)

²¹ The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,^(S)
    but people are tested by their praise.

²² Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
    grinding them like grain with a pestle,
    you will not remove their folly from them.

²³ Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,^(T)
    give careful attention to your herds;
²⁴ for riches do not endure forever,^(U)
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
²⁵ When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
²⁶ the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
²⁷ You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.

28 The wicked flee^(V) though no one pursues,^(W)
    but the righteous are as bold as a lion.^(X)

² When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
    but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.

³ A ruler^[c] who oppresses the poor
    is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

⁴ Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
    but those who heed it resist them.

⁵ Evildoers do not understand what is right,
    but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.

⁶ Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than the rich whose ways are perverse.^(Y)

⁷ A discerning son heeds instruction,
    but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.^(Z)

⁸ Whoever increases wealth by taking interest^(AA) or profit from the poor
    amasses it for another,^(AB) who will be kind to the poor.^(AC)

⁹ If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
    even their prayers are detestable.^(AD)

¹⁰ Whoever leads the upright along an evil path
    will fall into their own trap,^(AE)
    but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.

¹¹ The rich are wise in their own eyes;
    one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.

¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;^(AF)
    but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.^(AG)

¹³ Whoever conceals their sins^(AH) does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses^(AI) and renounces them finds mercy.^(AJ)

¹⁴ Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
    but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.