Proverbs 27:5-27 ▼

5 Better [is] open reproof than hidden love.

6 The wounds of a lover are faithful, || And the kisses of an enemy [are] abundant.

7 A satiated soul treads down a honeycomb, || And every bitter thing [is] sweet [to] a hungry soul.

8 As a bird wandering from her nest, || So [is] a man wandering from his place.

9 Perfume and incense make the heart glad, || And the sweetness of one’s friend—from counsel of the soul.

10 Do not forsake your own friend and the friend of your father, || And do not enter the house of your brother in a day of your calamity, || A near neighbor [is] better than a brother far off.

11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, || And I return a word [to] my reproacher.

12 The prudent has seen the evil, he is hidden, || The simple have passed on, they are punished.

13 Take his garment when a stranger has been guarantor, || And pledge it for a strange woman.

14 Whoever is greeting his friend with a loud voice, || Rising early in the morning, || It is reckoned a light thing to him.

15 A continual dropping in a day of rain, || And a woman of contentions are alike,

16 Whoever is hiding her has hidden the wind, || And the ointment of his right hand calls out.

17 Iron is sharpened by iron, || And a man sharpens the face of his friend.

18 The keeper of a fig tree eats its fruit, || And the preserver of his master is honored.

19 As [in] water the face [is] to face, || So the heart of man to man.

20 Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, || And the eyes of man are not satisfied.

21 A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, || And a man according to his praise.

22 If you beat the foolish in a mortar, || Among washed things—with a pestle, || His folly does not turn aside from off him.

23 Know the face of your flock well, || Set your heart to the droves,

24 For riches [are] not for all time, || Nor a crown to generation and generation.

25 The hay was revealed, and the tender grass seen, || And the herbs of mountains gathered.

26 Lambs [are] for your clothing, || And the price of the field [are] male goats,

27 And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for your bread, || For bread to your house, and life to your girls!