Proverbs

27 Do not boast thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

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

3 Heavy is a stone and weighty is sand,—But the vexation of a fool is heavier than both.

4 The cruelty of rage and the overflow of anger! But who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is a rebuke that is open, Than love carefully concealed.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But lavished are the kisses of an enemy.

7 The surfeited soul trampleth upon droppings from the comb, But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8 As a bird wandering from her nest So is a man wandering from his place.

9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart, The sweetness of one’s friend more than fragrant wood.

10 Thine own friend and thy father’s friend do not thou forsake; But the house of thy brother do not enter in thy day of calamity, Better a neighbour near than a brother far off.

11 Be wise, my son, and rejoice my heart, That I may answer him that reproacheth me in a matter.

12 A prudent man seeth calamity—he hideth himself, The simple pass on—they suffer.

13 Take a man’s garment when he hath become pledge for a stranger, Then for a female unknown accept him as surety.

14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice in the morning early A reproach shall it be reckoned to him.

15 A continuous dripping on a day of downpour, And a contentious wife are alike:

16 He that hideth her hideth the wind, And perfume his right hand may proclaim.

17 Let iron by iron become sharp, And let a man sharpen the face of his friend.

18 He that guardeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof, And he that watcheth over his master shall be honoured.

19 As in water face [answereth] to face So the heart of man to man.

20 Hades and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of a man are not satisfied.

21 Fining pot for silver and crucible for gold And a man [is to be tried] by what he praiseth.

22 Though thou pound a fool in a mortar amidst grain with a pestle His folly will not depart from him.

23 Note well the appearance of thy flock, Apply thy mind to thy herds;

24 For not age-abiding are riches, Nor is the diadem from generation to generation:—

25 The grass is taken away and the young shoot showeth itself, And the herbage of the mountains is gathered;

26 There are lambs for thy clothing And for the price of thy field there are he-goats;

27 With enough goats-milk for thy food—for the food of thy household, And a maintenance for thy maidens.