Proverbs 27 is the 27th chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is the last part of the fifth collection of the book,[2] so-called "the Second Solomonic Collection."
The following table shows the Hebrew text[3] [4] of Proverbs 27 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boast not thyself of to- morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. | ||
| 2 | Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips. | ||
| 3 | A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool’s vexation is heavier than they both. | ||
| 4 | Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy? | ||
| 5 | Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden. | ||
| 6 | Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are importunate. | ||
| 7 | The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. | ||
| 8 | As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place. | ||
| 9 | Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. | ||
| 10 | Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. | ||
| 11 | My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that taunteth me. | ||
| 12 | A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the thoughtless pass on, and are punished. | ||
| 13 | Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien woman. | ||
| 14 | He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him. | ||
| 15 | A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike; | ||
| 16 | He that would hide her hideth the wind, And the ointment of his right hand betrayeth itself. | ||
| 17 | Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. | ||
| 18 | Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. | ||
| 19 | As in water face answereth to face, So the heart of man to man. | ||
| 20 | The nether-world and Destruction are never satiated; So the eyes of man are never satiated. | ||
| 21 | The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, And a man is tried by his praise. | ||
| 22 | Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him. | ||
| 23 | Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds; | ||
| 24 | For riches are not for ever; And doth the crown endure unto all generations? | ||
| 25 | When the hay is mown, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in; | ||
| 26 | The lambs will be for thy clothing, And the goats the price for a field. | ||
| 27 | And there will be goats’milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household; And maintenance for thy maidens. |
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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This chapter belongs to a further collection of Solomonic proverbs, transmitted andedited by royal scribes during the reign of Hezekiah, comprising Proverbs 25–29. Based on differences in style and subject-matter there could be two originally separate collections:
The New King James Version adopts verse 7 as a sub-heading for this chapter,[5] reflecting the argument from Methodist minister Arno Gaebelein that this section represents "instructions given to Solomon".[6] Verses 23 to 27 are distinct and commend the life of a shepherd "as providing the best and most enduring kind of wealth".
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.[7]
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.[10]
. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .
. Michael V. Fox . Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries . Yale University Press . 2009 . 978-0300155563.
. Henry Hampton Halley. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary . 24th (revised). Zondervan Publishing House . 1965 . 0-310-25720-4.