Proverbs 27

Boast not thyself of to- morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?

Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are importunate.

The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that taunteth me.

A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the thoughtless pass on, and are punished.

Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien woman.

He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him.

A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike;

He that would hide her hideth the wind, And the ointment of his right hand betrayeth itself.

Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

As in water face answereth to face, So the heart of man to man.

The nether-world and Destruction are never satiated; So the eyes of man are never satiated.

The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, And a man is tried by his praise.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds;

For riches are not for ever; And doth the crown endure unto all generations?

When the hay is mown, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in;

The lambs will be for thy clothing, And the goats the price for a field. .

And there will be goats’milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household; And maintenance for thy maidens.