27 Boast not thyself of to
morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 2 Let another man praise thee, and not
thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. 3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. 4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;
but who is able to stand before envy? 5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb;
but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. 8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
so is a man that wandereth from his place. 9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:
so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 10 Thine 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. 11 My son, be wise, and make my heart
glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. 12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil,
and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. 13 Take his garment that is surety for
a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
it shall be counted a curse to him. 15 A continual
dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. 16 Whosoever
hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth
itself. 17 Iron
sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. 18 Whoso
keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on
his master shall be honoured. 19 As
in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. 20 Hell
and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. 21 As
the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his
praise. 22 Though
thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will
not his foolishness depart from him. 23 Be
thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. 24 For
riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The
hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains
are gathered. 26 The
lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And
thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,
and for the maintenance for thy maidens.