Proverbs 27

1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.

2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

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?

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.

8 As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.

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 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, then I can answer my tormentor.

12 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

13 Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger. Hold it for a wayward woman!

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 on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike:

16 restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.

17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.

18 Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.

19 Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.

20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.

21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

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 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds,

24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.

25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.

26 The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.

27 There will be plenty of goats’ milk for your food, for your family’s food, and for the nourishment of your servant girls.

Around Proverbs 27

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Proverbs as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

Two voices call from the high places of a city, and both want the same passers-by. “Wisdom has built her house”, the ninth chapter says. She has set her table and sent out her maidens, and she calls the simple to leave their simple ways. Across the street, a loud and undisciplined woman, Folly, sits at her door and calls the very same crowd.

That picture captures the whole book. Proverbs gathers short sayings and longer poems about living wisely. Its starting point is that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” It contrasts the wise and the foolish in speech, work, money, friendship, marriage and the raising of children.

In the opening chapters wisdom is pictured as a woman calling out in the streets. The book ends with a poem in praise of a capable wife.

Background

Most of the sayings are linked with Solomon. Others are credited to Agur, to King Lemuel and to unnamed wise teachers, and one section was copied by officials of King Hezekiah about two centuries after Solomon (25:1). Similar collections of wisdom are known from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

How Christians read it

A proverb states what is generally true, not a guarantee for every case. Reading the sayings as promises leads to disappointment, and the books of Job and Ecclesiastes show the exceptions. The New Testament speaks of Christ as the wisdom of God, and many Christians read the figure of wisdom in chapter 8 in that light.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes