Proverbs 27:1-27

27  Do not boast thyself of to-morrow, For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.  Let another praise thee and not thine own mouth, A stranger and not thine own lips.  Heavy is a stone and weighty is sand,—But the vexation of a fool is heavier than both.  The cruelty of rage and the overflow of anger! But who can stand before jealousy?  Better is a rebuke that is open, Than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But lavished are the kisses of an enemy.  The surfeited soul trampleth upon droppings from the comb, But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.  As a bird wandering from her nest So is a man wandering from his place.  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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