Proverbs 27:1-27
1 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,a and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
4 Wrathb 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.c
7 The full soul loathethd 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 nevere 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 lookf well to thy herds.
24 For richesg 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 maintenanceh for thy maidens.
Proverbs 27:2. Let another man praise thee. A man is sometimes compelled to speak of himself. But modesty often prefers speaking in the third person; as St. John, who says, “that disciple whom Jesus loved.” St. Paul, grievously mauled by the Jews at Corinth, says, “I knew a man about fourteen years ago such an one was caught up into the third heaven.” It is a man's works, not his tongue, which memorializes his worth.
Proverbs 27:5. Open rebuke is better than secret love. For it is secret love brought into action, and seasonably exercised to save us from harm. The wounds of a friend soon heal, but the caresses of an enemy convey a subtle poison to the vitals.
Proverbs 27:6. The kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Perhaps he had Joab's kiss to Abner in his eye when he wrote this proverb.
Proverbs 27:7. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb. Here the poor have pleasures which the rich do not often taste. They relish their food when they come from the field; and sleep, shunning the palace and “kingly couch,” courts a residence in the hovels of the poor. So providence provides happiness for every class of men.
Proverbs 27:8. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. Since the general peace of 1816, England has been overrun with men and women wandering about, which marks a defective state of society. A vagrant, being unknown, has lost his moral and civil obligations of social order. Their own parishes injure others, by driving out the poor in search of bread.
Proverbs 27:15. A continual dropping, through the thatch on a rainy day, and a scolding wife alike drive the husband from his house. Scolding is a pernicious habit, it betrays the ignorance and naughtiness of the heart, and requires to be vanquished by the most judicious management. But who is sufficient for the task?
Proverbs 27:17. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. When we recognize the face of an old friend, we recollect the endearments of former life; and we want to know all the adventures of interest since we saw him. We anticipate a thousand pleasures we shall yet enjoy in his company. How much more so in religious society where friends are more pure, and where the hopes are immortal; and how much more so in heaven where we meet to part no more, and where we shall see the Lord with open face, who loved us, even unto death? Horace says, **** Ergo fungar vice cotis, acutum reddere quæ ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi. Ars Poet. 5:304. Whether you cut yourself or not, sharpen and make me cut, then I shall hope to return the favour.
Proverbs 27:23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks. Servants do their duty better, when the master performs his.