Chapter 27

  Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.  

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

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

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

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  Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.  

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

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

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

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  Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man's friend [that cometh] of hearty counsel.  

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  Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; And go not to thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.  

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

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  A prudent man seeth the evil, [and] hideth himself; [But] the simple pass on, [and] suffer for it.  

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  Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge [that is surety] for a foreign woman.  

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

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

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  He that would restrain her restraineth the wind; And his right hand encountereth oil.  

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

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  Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.  

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

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  Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.  

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

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

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  Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [And] look well to thy herds:  

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

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  The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.  

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  The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field;  

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  And [there will be] goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, And maintenance for thy maidens.  

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