Proverbs

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,

For you do not know what a day will bring.*+

 2 Let someone else* praise you, and not your own mouth;

Others,* and not your own lips.+

 3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,

But the irritation caused by a fool is heavier than both.+

 4 There is the cruelty of rage and the flood of anger,

But who can withstand jealousy?+

 6 The wounds inflicted by a friend are faithful,+

But an enemy’s kisses are plentiful.*

 7 One whose appetite* is satisfied turns down* honey from the comb,

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 Oil and incense make the heart rejoice;

So does sweet friendship springing from sincere counsel.*+

10 Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend,

And do not enter your own brother’s house on the day of your disaster;

Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.+

11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice,+

So that I can make a reply to him who taunts me.+

12 The shrewd person sees the danger and conceals himself,+

But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences.*

13 Take a man’s garment if he has given security for a stranger;

Seize the pledge from him if he did so for a foreign woman.*+

14 When someone blesses his fellow man with a loud voice early in the morning,

It will be counted as a curse to him.

16 Whoever can restrain her can restrain the wind

And can grip oil with his right hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens his friend.*+

18 The one who cares for a fig tree will eat its fruit,+

And the one who takes care of his master will be honored.+

19 As water reflects one’s face,

So the heart of one man reflects another’s.

20 The Grave and the place of destruction* are never satisfied,+

Nor are a man’s eyes ever satisfied.

21 As the refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,+

So a person is tested by the praise he receives.*

22 Even if you pound a fool with a pestle

Like crushed grain in a mortar,

His foolishness will not leave him.

Take good care of* your sheep,+

24 For wealth does not last forever,+

Nor a crown* for all generations.

25 The green grass disappears, new grass appears,

And the vegetation of the mountains is gathered in.

26 The young rams provide your clothing,

And the male goats provide the price of a field.

27 And there will be enough goat’s milk to feed you,

To feed your household, and to sustain your servant girls.