August 30th Proverbs 27-28

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
    an outsider, and not your own lips.
3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
    but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
    but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8 Like a bird that flees its nest
    is anyone who flees from home.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.
10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
    then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse.
15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.
18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.[a]
20 Death and Destruction[b] are never satisfied,
    and neither are human eyes.
21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
    but people are tested by their praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
    grinding them like grain with a pestle,
    you will not remove their folly from them.
23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
    give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.
Footnotes

Proverbs 27:19 Or so others reflect your heart back to you
Proverbs 27:20 Hebrew Abaddon


28 The wicked flee though no one pursues,
    but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
    but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
    is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
    but those who heed it resist them.
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right,
    but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than the rich whose ways are perverse.
7 A discerning son heeds instruction,
    but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor
    amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
    even their prayers are detestable.
10 Whoever leads the upright along an evil path
    will fall into their own trap,
    but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
    one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;
    but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
    but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
    is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
    but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
17 Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder
    will seek refuge in the grave;
    let no one hold them back.
18 The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe,
    but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.[b]
19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
    but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good—
    yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 The stingy are eager to get rich
    and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor
    rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
24 Whoever robs their father or mother
    and says, “It’s not wrong,”
    is partner to one who destroys.
25 The greedy stir up conflict,
    but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.
26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
    but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
    but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;
    but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
Footnotes

Proverbs 28:3 Or A poor person
Proverbs 28:18 Syriac (see Septuagint); Hebrew into one