Proverbs · American Standard Version (1901)
Proverbs 27 American Standard Version (1901)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a 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.
8 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend [that cometh] of hearty counsel.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; And go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
10 Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that reproacheth me.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.
12 A prudent man seeth the evil, [and] hideth himself; [But] the simple pass on, [and] suffer for it.
12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge [that is surety] for a foreign woman.
13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him.
14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike:
15 A continual dropping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:
16 He that would restrain her restraineth the wind; And his right hand encountereth oil.
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.
19 As in water face [answereth] to face, So the heart of man to man.
19 Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; And a man is [tried] by his praise.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [And] look well to thy herds:
23 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,
24 For riches are not for ever; And doth the crown endure unto all generations?
24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
25 The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field;
26 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.
27 And [there will be] goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, And maintenance for thy maidens.
27 There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food, for your family’s food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.
Cross references (27)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 James 4:13–16; Luke 12:19–20; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Isaiah 56:12; 1 Samuel 28:19
- 2 2 Corinthians 10:18; Proverbs 25:27; 2 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 12:11
- 3 Daniel 3:19; 1 John 3:12; Proverbs 17:12; Genesis 49:7; 1 Samuel 22:18–19
- 4 Proverbs 6:34; Proverbs 14:30; James 3:14–16; Job 5:2; Matthew 27:18
- 5 Proverbs 28:23; 1 Timothy 5:20; Galatians 2:14; Matthew 18:15; Leviticus 19:17
- 6 Psalm 141:5; Revelation 3:19; Job 5:17–18; Proverbs 26:23–26; 2 Samuel 12:7–15
- 7 Luke 15:16–17; Numbers 21:5; Numbers 11:18–20; Numbers 11:4–9; John 6:9
- 8 Proverbs 21:16; Isaiah 16:2; Jonah 1:3; 1 Corinthians 7:20; Jonah 1:10–17
- 9 Proverbs 16:23–24; Proverbs 16:21; Psalm 23:5; Proverbs 15:23; Psalm 104:15
- 10 Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 17:17; 1 Kings 12:6–8; Luke 10:30–37; Proverbs 19:7
- 11 Proverbs 10:1; Psalm 119:42; Proverbs 23:15–16; 2 John 4; Proverbs 23:24–25
- 12 Proverbs 22:3; Proverbs 18:10; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 3:10–14; 2 Peter 3:7
- 13 Proverbs 20:16; Proverbs 6:1–4; Proverbs 22:26–27; Exodus 22:26
- 14 2 Samuel 16:16–19; Acts 12:22–23; Jeremiah 28:2–4; 1 Kings 22:13; 2 Samuel 15:2–7
- 15 Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 21:19; Proverbs 25:24; Job 14:19
- 16 John 12:3
- 17 Hebrews 10:24; Proverbs 27:9; Job 4:3–4; 1 Samuel 23:16; Isaiah 35:3–4
- 18 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Timothy 2:6; Song of Songs 8:12; Luke 12:37; John 12:26
- 19 James 1:22–25; Psalm 33:15; Mark 7:21; Genesis 6:5
- 20 Ecclesiastes 1:8; 1 John 2:16; Proverbs 30:15–16; Ecclesiastes 6:7; Habakkuk 2:5
- 21 Proverbs 17:3; Zechariah 13:9; Psalm 66:10; Malachi 3:3; 1 Peter 1:7
- 22 Proverbs 23:35; Jeremiah 5:3; Isaiah 1:5; Revelation 16:10–11; Exodus 14:5
- 23 1 Peter 5:2; John 21:15–17; Genesis 33:13; 2 Chronicles 26:10; Proverbs 24:32
- 24 Proverbs 23:5; 1 Timothy 6:17–18; Zephaniah 1:18; James 1:10; Isaiah 9:7
- 25 Proverbs 10:5; Psalm 104:14
- 26 Job 31:20
- 27 Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 30:8–9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Have pity, O Lord God, lest they who pass by trample on the unfledged bird; and send Thine angel, who may restore it to its nest that it may live until it can fly.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Hence it is written, "Let not thy own mouth praise thee, but let thy neighbor's" mouth praise thee. But this was said to man.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
There is a precept laid on man: "Let not thine own mouth praise thee, but the mouth of thy neighbor." For self-pleasing is a perilous thing for one who has to be on his guard against falling into pride.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)