Proverbs

¹Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring. ²Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. ³A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. ⁴Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy? ⁵Better is open rebuke than hidden love. ⁶The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse. ⁷A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. ⁸As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home. ⁹Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend. ¹⁰Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother. ¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor. ¹²A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it. ¹³Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman! ¹⁴He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him. ¹⁵A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike: ¹⁶restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand. ¹⁷Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance. ¹⁸Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored. ¹⁹Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. ²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied. ²¹The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise. ²²Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him. ²³Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds, ²⁴for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations. ²⁵The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in. ²⁶The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field. ²⁷There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food, for your family’s food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.