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[1] Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
[2] Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
[3] A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
[4] Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming;
but who can stand before jealousy?
[5] Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
[6] Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
[7] He who is sated loathes honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
[8] Like a bird that strays from its nest,
is a man who strays from his home.
[9] Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
but the soul is torn by trouble.
[10] Your friend, and your father’s friend, do not forsake;
and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
[11] Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him who reproaches me.
[12] A prudent man sees danger and hides himself;
but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
[13] Take a man’s garment when he has given surety for a stranger,
and hold him in pledge when he gives surety for foreigners.
[14] He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
[15] A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike;
[16] to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in his right hand.
[17] Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
[18] He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
[19] As in water face answers to face,
so the mind of man reflects the man.
[20] Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
[21] The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is judged by his praise.
[22] Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
[23] Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds;
[24] for riches do not last for ever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
[25] When the grass is gone, and the new growth appears,
and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,
[26] the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field;
[27] there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your maidens.
The Book of Proverbs is provided for non-commercial purposes by the University of Pennsylvania Center for Computer Analysis of Texts. Licensing information can be found here.
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