1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth. |
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips. |
3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but provocation by a fool is heavier than both. |
4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy? |
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love. |
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses. |
7 He who is full loathes honey,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. |
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home. |
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel. |
10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father,
and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you-
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. |
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. |
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it. |
13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman. |
14 If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse. |
15 A quarrelsome wife is like
a constant dripping on a rainy day; |
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand. |
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another. |
18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who looks after his master will be honored. |
19 As water reflects a face,
so a man's heart reflects the man. |
20 Death and Destruction1 27:20 Hebrew Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and neither are the eyes of man. |
21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but man is tested by the praise he receives. |
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
grinding him like grain with a pestle,
you will not remove his folly from him. |
23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds; |
24 for riches do not endure forever,
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 you and your family
and to nourish your servant girls. |
