Chapter 27

Boast¹⁰¹ not thyself of to morrow; ⁴²⁷⁹ for thou knowest⁴ not what a day may bring forth.⁴

Let another man⁵ praise¹⁷ thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

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

Wrath [is] cruel, and anger [is] outrageous; but who [is] able to stand⁴ before envy?

Open³⁰ rebuke [is] better than secret³⁰ love.

Faithful¹² [are] the wounds of a friend;⁶ but the kisses of an enemy⁶ [are] deceitful.¹²

The full soul loatheth⁴ an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

As a bird that wandereth⁶ from her nest, so [is] a man that wandereth⁶ from his place.

Ointment and perfume rejoice¹⁷ the heart: so [doth] the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake⁴ not; neither go⁴ into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: [for] better [is] a neighbour [that is] near than a brother far off.

My son, be wise,³ and make my heart glad,¹⁶ that I may answer^{55 1697} him that reproacheth⁶ me.

A prudent [man] foreseeth¹ the evil, [and] hideth⁸ himself; [but] the simple pass on,¹ [and] are punished.⁸

Take³ his garment that is surety¹ for a stranger,⁵ and take a pledge³ of him for a strange woman.

He that blesseth¹⁸ his friend with a loud voice, rising early⁵³ in the morning, it shall be counted¹¹ a curse to him.

A continual⁶ dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious ⁴⁰⁶⁶ woman are alike.¹³

Whosoever hideth⁶ her hideth¹ the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, [which] bewrayeth⁴ [itself].

Iron sharpeneth⁴ iron; so a man sharpeneth⁵⁵ the countenance of his friend.

Whoso keepeth⁶ the fig tree shall eat⁴ the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth⁶ on his master shall be honoured.²⁹

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

Hell and destruction ¹⁰ are never full;⁴ so the eyes of man are never satisfied.⁴

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

Though thou shouldest bray⁴ a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, [yet] will not his foolishness depart⁴ from him.

Be thou diligent⁴ to know² the state of thy flocks, [and] look³ well to thy herds.

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

The hay appeareth,¹ and the tender grass sheweth⁸ itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.⁸

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

And [thou shalt have] goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and [for] the maintenance for thy maidens.