1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring. 2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips. 3 A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both. 4 Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked? 5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love. 6 The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one. 7 A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet. 8 Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place. 9 Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul. 10 Do not dismiss your friend or your father’s friend. And do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother. 11 My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches. 12 The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses. 13 Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners. 14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses. 15 A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable. 16 He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand. 17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. 18 Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified. 19 In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent. 20 Hell and perdition are never filled; similarly the eyes of men are insatiable. 21 In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge. 22 Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him. 23 Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks, 24 for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation. 25 The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains. 26 Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field. 27 Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.
Proverbs · Catholic Public Domain Version
Proverbs 27 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
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)