Shared Word Translation
Proverbs 27
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
Do not boast
about tomorrow,
for you do not know
what a day may bring.
Let another praise you
and not your own mouth,
a stranger
and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy
and sand is weighty,
but the provocation of a fool
is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel
and anger is a flood,
but who can stand
before jealousy?
Better is open correction
than love kept hidden.
Faithful are the wounds
of a friend,
but the kisses of an enemy
are excessive.
A satisfied person
tramples honey,
but to a hungry person
even bitterness is sweet.
Like a bird
wandering from its nest
is a person
wandering from home.
Oil and incense
make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend
comes from heartfelt counsel.
Do not abandon
your friend or your parent’s friend;
do not enter your sibling’s house
in the day of your disaster.
Better a nearby neighbor
than a distant sibling.
Friends Sharpen One Another
Be wise, my child,
and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer
the one who reproaches me.
The prudent see danger
and hide themselves;
the simple pass on
and suffer for it.
Take the garment
of one who becomes surety for a stranger;
hold it as security
for an outsider.
Whoever blesses a neighbor
with a loud voice early in the morning
may have it counted
as a curse.
A continual dripping
on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome spouse
are alike.
Whoever would restrain such a person
restrains the wind
and grasps oil
with the hand.
Iron sharpens iron,
and one person
sharpens the face
of another.
Whoever tends a fig tree
will eat its fruit,
and whoever guards a master
will be honored.
As water reflects
a face to a face,
so a human heart
reflects the person.
Sheol and Abaddon
are never satisfied,
and the eyes of humanity
are never satisfied.
The crucible is for silver
and the furnace for gold,
and a person is tested
by the praise they receive.
Know the Condition of Your Flocks
Even if you crush a fool
in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
their folly
will not depart.
Know well
the condition of your flocks;
give careful attention
to your herds,
for riches
do not last forever,
nor does a crown endure
from generation to generation.
When the hay is removed
and new grass appears
and the vegetation of the hills
is gathered,
lambs will provide
your clothing,
and goats
the price of a field,
and there will be enough goat’s milk
for your food,
for the food of your household,
and provision
for your servants.