Proverbs 27
27
1Don’t brag about tomorrow.
You don’t know what a day will bring.
2Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth.
Let an outsider praise you, and not your own lips.
3Stones are heavy, and sand weighs a lot.
But letting a foolish person make you angry is a heavier load than both of them.
4Anger is mean, and great anger overpowers you.
But who can face jealousy?
5Being warned openly is better
than being loved in secret.
6Wounds from a friend can be trusted.
But an enemy kisses you many times.
7When you are full, you even hate honey.
When you are hungry, even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8Anyone who runs away from home
is like a bird that flies away from its nest.
9Perfume and incense bring joy to your heart.
And the sweetness of a friend comes from their honest advice.
10Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family.
And don’t go to your relative’s house when trouble strikes you.
A neighbor nearby is better than a relative far away.
11My son, be wise and bring joy to my heart.
Then I can answer anyone who makes fun of me.
12Wise people see danger and go to a safe place.
But childish people keep on going and suffer for it.
13Take the coat of one who puts up money for what a stranger owes.
Hold it until you get paid back if it is done for an outsider.
14Suppose you loudly bless your neighbor early in the morning.
Then you might as well be cursing him.
15A nagging wife is like the dripping
of a leaky roof in a rainstorm.
16Stopping her is like trying to stop the wind.
It’s like trying to grab olive oil with your hand.
17As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
18A person who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit.
And a person who protects their master will be honored.
19When you look into water, you see a likeness of your face.
When you look into your heart, you see what you are really like.
20Death and the Grave are never satisfied.
People’s eyes are never satisfied either.
21Fire tests silver, and heat tests gold.
But people are tested by the praise they receive.
22Suppose you could grind a foolish person in a mill.
Suppose you could grind them as you would grind grain with a tool.
Even then you could not remove their foolishness from them.
23Be sure you know how your flocks are doing.
Pay careful attention to your herds.
24Riches don’t last forever.
And a crown is not secure for all time to come.
25The hay is removed, and new growth appears.
The grass from the hills is gathered in.
26Then your lambs will provide you with clothes.
And the money from selling your goats will buy you a field.
27You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family.
It will also feed your female servants.
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Proverbs 27: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Proverbs 27
27
You Don’t Know Tomorrow
1Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that’s never expressed.
6The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.
11Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;
then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;
a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14If you wake your friend in the early morning
by shouting “Rise and shine!”
It will sound to him
more like a curse than a blessing.
15-16A nagging spouse is like
the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;
You can’t turn it off,
and you can’t get away from it.
Your Face Mirrors Your Heart
17You use steel to sharpen steel,
and one friend sharpens another.
18If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;
if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.
19Just as water mirrors your face,
so your face mirrors your heart.
20Hell has a voracious appetite,
and lust just never quits.
21The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame.
22Pound on a fool all you like—
you can’t pound out foolishness.
23-27Know your sheep by name;
carefully attend to your flocks;
(Don’t take them for granted;
possessions don’t last forever, you know.)
And then, when the crops are in
and the harvest is stored in the barns,
You can knit sweaters from lambs’ wool,
and sell your goats for a profit;
There will be plenty of milk and meat
to last your family through the winter.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.