Proverbs 27:1-27

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.

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