Proverbs 27

English Amplified Classic Bible 1987

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1DO NOT boast of [yourself and] tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth. [Luke 12:19, 20; James 4:13.]

2Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

3Stone is heavy and sand weighty, but a fool's [unreasoning] wrath is heavier and more intolerable than both of them.

4Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy?

5Open rebuke is better than love that is hidden. [Prov. 28:23; Gal. 2:14.]

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful.

7He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8Like a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who strays from his home.

9Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart.

10Your own friend and your father's friend, forsake them not; neither go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near [in spirit] than a brother who is far off [in heart].

11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me [as having failed in my parental duty]. [Prov. 10:1; 23:15, 24.]

12A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering].

13[The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners. [Prov. 20:16.]

14The flatterer who loudly praises and glorifies his neighbor, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted as cursing him [for he will be suspected of sinister purposes].

15A continual dripping on a day of violent showers and a contentious woman are alike; [Prov. 19:13.]

16Whoever attempts to restrain [a contentious woman] might as well try to stop the wind–his right hand encounters oil [and she slips through his fingers].

17Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend [to show rage or worthy purpose].

18Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit; so he who patiently and faithfully guards and heeds his master shall be honored. [I Cor. 9:7, 13.]

19As in water face answers to and reflects face, so the heart of man to man.

20Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the place of destruction) are never satisfied; so [the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied. [Prov. 30:16; Hab. 2:5.]

21As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts].

22Even though like grain you should pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds;

24For riches are not forever; does a crown endure to all generations?

25When the hay is gone, the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountain are gathered in,

26The lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats [will furnish you] the price of a field.

27And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your maids.

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