Proverbs 27

Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

1Do not brag about what you will do tomorrow. You do not know what a day will bring.

2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

2Let someone else say good things about you. Do not praise yourself. Let it come from another person's mouth, not your own.

3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.

3A stone is heavy. Sand is heavy too. But a fool's anger is heavier than both of them.

4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

4Anger is cruel, and rage rushes over people like a flood. But no one can stand up to jealousy.

5Open rebuke is better than secret love.

5It is better to be told your fault out loud than to be loved in secret.

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

6A friend who hurts you by telling the truth is being true to you. An enemy's kisses are lies.

7The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

7A person who is full will not even want honey. A hungry person is glad for anything, even bitter food.

8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

8A man who wanders away from his home is like a bird that leaves its nest.

9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

9Sweet oil and perfume make the heart glad. A friend's honest advice is sweet in the same way.

10Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

10Do not leave your own friend or your father's friend. When trouble comes, do not run to your brother's house. A neighbor who lives close helps more than a brother far away.

11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

11My son, be wise and make my heart glad. Then I can answer anyone who makes fun of me.

12A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

12A careful person sees trouble coming and hides. A person who does not think keeps walking and gets hurt.

13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

13If a man promises to pay a stranger's debt, take his coat. Hold something of his until the debt is paid.

NoteIn Bible times, a person who promised to pay someone else's debt could hand over his coat as a promise. The coat was held until the debt was paid.

14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

14Someone may shout a loud blessing to his friend early in the morning. It will feel like a curse instead.

15A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

15Rain drips through a leaky roof all day long. A wife who keeps arguing is like that dripping.

16Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

16Trying to stop her is like trying to hold back the wind. It is like grabbing oil with your hand.

17Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

17Iron makes iron sharp. In the same way, one person makes another person sharper.

18Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

18Whoever takes care of a fig tree gets to eat its fruit. Whoever takes care of his master will be honored.

19As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

19Water shows you your own face. In the same way, a person's heart shows who he really is.

20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

20The place of the dead is never full. People's eyes never have enough either.

NoteThe old word here is "hell." It means the place of the dead, or the grave.

21As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

21Silver is tested in a hot pot. Gold is tested in a furnace. A person is tested by the praise he gets.

NoteA "fining pot" is a pot used to melt metal so the dirt can be taken out of it.

22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

22You could crush a fool like grain, with a heavy stick in a bowl. Even then his foolish ways would stay.

23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

23Be sure you know how your sheep are doing. Take good care of your cows.

24For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

24Money does not last forever. Even a king's crown does not last for all time.

25The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

25The hay is cut, and new grass comes up. Then the plants on the hills are gathered in.

26The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

26The lambs will give you wool for your clothes. The goats will pay for a field.

27And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

27You will have plenty of goat's milk. It will feed you, your family, and your servant girls.