Proverbs 27-29

New International Version - UK

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 neighbour 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 neighbour 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 honoured.

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 for ever,
    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.

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^[c] who oppresses the poor
    is like 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 way of life 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 practises 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 way of life is blameless is kept safe,
    but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.^[d]

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 favour
    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.

29 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
    will suddenly be destroyed – without remedy.

² When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
    when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³ A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
    but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴ By justice a king gives a country stability,
    but those who are greedy for^[e] bribes tear it down.

⁵ Those who flatter their neighbours
    are spreading nets for their feet.

⁶ Evildoers are snared by their own sin,
    but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.

⁷ The righteous care about justice for the poor,
    but the wicked have no such concern.

⁸ Mockers stir up a city,
    but the wise turn away anger.

⁹ If a wise person goes to court with a fool,
    the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

¹⁰ The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity
    and seek to kill the upright.

¹¹ Fools give full vent to their rage,
    but the wise bring calm in the end.

¹² If a ruler listens to lies,
    all his officials become wicked.

¹³ The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
    the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴ If a king judges the poor with fairness,
    his throne will be established for ever.

¹⁵ A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
    but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.

¹⁶ When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
    but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷ Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
    they will bring you the delights you desire.

¹⁸ Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
    but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

¹⁹ Servants cannot be corrected by mere words;
    though they understand, they will not respond.

²⁰ Do you see someone who speaks in haste?
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.

²¹ A servant pampered from youth
    will turn out to be insolent.

²² An angry person stirs up conflict,
    and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

²³ Pride brings a person low,
    but the lowly in spirit gain honour.

²⁴ The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies;
    they are put under oath and dare not testify.

²⁵ Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

²⁶ Many seek an audience with a ruler,
    but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.

²⁷ The righteous detest the dishonest;
    the wicked detest the upright.