Proverbs Chapter 27
Showing all 27 verses for Proverbs Chapter 27.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. "
"Don't boast about what you'll do tomorrow — you have no idea what a single day might bring."
I'm not telling you to stop dreaming or planning — I'm inviting you to hold those plans with open hands instead of a clenched fist. Live fully in today, because today is the only place you actually have any power. Boasting about tomorrow is a way of pretending you're in control of something you're not.
"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. "
"Let someone else praise you — don't sing your own praises."
Do good because it's good, not so you can announce it. When you find yourself needing to tell people how great you are, that's usually a sign you're not sure of it yourself — so let your life speak, and let others do the talking.
"A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. "
"A stone is heavy and sand is heavy, but a fool's rage is heavier to carry than either."
Carrying a grudge or a hot temper around wears you out more than you realise, and it wears out everyone who loves you too. Put that weight down. Anger you refuse to manage doesn't just sit still — it grows heavier the longer you carry it.
"Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? "
"Fury is cruel and anger is overwhelming — but who can survive envy?"
Watch your own heart for the quiet resentment that grows when someone else has what you want. It's harder to spot than anger, and more dangerous, because it festers in silence. Bring it into the light before it turns into something you regret.
"Open rebuke is better than secret love. "
"Honest criticism spoken to your face is better than love that never says a hard word."
If you love someone, tell them the truth, even when it's uncomfortable. Silence dressed up as kindness usually isn't kindness at all — it's avoidance. The people who love you best are the ones willing to have the hard conversation.
"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. "
"A friend's honest criticism, even when it stings, can be trusted; an enemy's flattering kisses are fake."
Learn to value the friend who's honest with you over the one who only ever tells you what you want to hear. Real love is willing to cause a little pain now to spare you a lot of pain later.
"The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. "
"Someone who's already full turns up their nose at honey, but someone genuinely hungry finds even bitter food tastes sweet."
Notice how easily comfort can make you take good things for granted. Try to hold onto the gratitude that comes naturally when you have less — that's a healthier way to live even when you have plenty.
"As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. "
"A person who wanders away from where they belong is like a bird that's strayed from its nest — exposed and lost."
Stay rooted in the people and commitments that ground you. There's real wisdom in stability — not because change is bad, but because drifting away from what anchors you leaves you exposed in ways you won't notice until it's too late.
"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. "
"Perfume and fragrant oil delight the senses — and so does a friend's sincere, heartfelt advice."
Cherish the people in your life who speak honestly and warmly into your decisions. That kind of counsel is rare and valuable — don't brush it off as unwelcome interference.
"Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. "
"Don't abandon your own friend or your family's longstanding friend, and don't run to a distant relative when trouble strikes — a nearby neighbour is more use to you than a brother far away."
Nurture the friendships that show up for you in hard times — that's family in every way that matters. Don't take loyal people for granted just because they're not technically related to you.
"My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. "
"Son, be wise and make me glad, so that I'll have an answer for anyone who criticises me."
How you live reflects on the people who raised and shaped you, whether you like it or not. Living well is partly a gift you give back to them, out of love and gratitude, not obligation.
"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. "
"A sensible person sees danger coming and gets out of the way; a naive person just keeps walking and pays the price."
Pay attention to warning signs in your life — in relationships, work, health, choices — instead of pushing forward blindly out of stubbornness or pride. Caution isn't weakness; it's a form of care for yourself.
"Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. "
"If someone puts up their coat as a guarantee for a stranger's debt, take it as collateral — same if it's for a reckless woman."
Be careful with financial promises you make on behalf of people you barely know, however generous it feels in the moment. Real generosity is thoughtful, not reckless.
"He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. "
"Loudly praising your friend at the crack of dawn will be taken as an insult, not a compliment."
Read the room before you act, even when your intentions are good. Kindness that ignores someone's actual state — tired, overwhelmed, private — can land as intrusion rather than care.
"A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. "
"A nagging, quarrelsome person is like a leaky roof that won't stop dripping on a rainy day."
If you're the source of constant friction in a relationship or home, be honest with yourself about it. Peace starts with noticing your own patterns, not just enduring someone else's.
"Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself. "
"Trying to restrain her is like trying to grab hold of the wind, or trying to hold oil in your fist — it just slips away."
You can't control someone else's temperament by trying to cage or restrain it. Real change comes from within a person, so approach conflict with patience and hope rather than trying to force a fix.
"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. "
"Iron sharpens iron — and in the same way, one person sharpens another through real friendship."
Seek out friends who challenge you to grow, not just people who agree with everything you say. That friction, when it comes from love, is one of the greatest gifts a friendship can offer.
"Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. "
"Whoever tends a fig tree gets to eat its fruit; likewise, whoever serves their employer faithfully will be honoured."
Don't despise the slow, unglamorous work you do every day. Faithfulness over time, even when no one's watching, is exactly what produces real, lasting reward.
"As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. "
"Just as water reflects your face back at you, one person's heart reflects another's."
What irritates or moves you in other people often reveals something about your own heart. Use that as a mirror for growth and self-honesty, not just as a tool for judging others.
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. "
"The grave and the place of destruction are never full, and neither is human wanting ever satisfied."
Chasing endless "more" will never actually fill you up — there's no finish line to reach that way. Contentment isn't something you arrive at by getting enough; it's a choice you make regardless of how much you have.
"As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. "
"A crucible tests silver and a furnace tests gold — and a person is tested by how they handle being praised."
Pay attention to how praise affects you. If compliments make you arrogant or dismissive of others, that's worth noticing and working on — real character shows itself most clearly under flattery, not criticism.
"Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. "
"Even if you pounded a fool in a grinding bowl like grain, you still couldn't beat the foolishness out of him."
Real change of heart can't be forced from the outside, in yourself or in anyone else. Approach stubborn patterns with patience and honest conversation rather than assuming pressure alone will fix them.
"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. "
"Make sure you know exactly how your flocks and herds are doing — pay close, careful attention to them."
Stay attentive to what's actually in front of you — your work, your relationships, your responsibilities — rather than coasting on autopilot and assuming everything will look after itself.
"For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? "
"Wealth doesn't last forever, and even a royal crown doesn't stay in one family generation after generation."
Don't build your sense of identity or security purely on money or status — both are more fragile than they look. Build instead on things like character and relationships, which don't erode the same way.
"The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. "
"When the hay is cut, new grass comes up, and the mountain herbs are gathered in."
Align your effort with the natural seasons of your own life instead of fighting against them. There's real wisdom in recognising what stage you're in and working with it, not forcing a different rhythm.
"The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. "
"The lambs will give you wool for clothes, and the goats will fetch enough money to buy land."
Don't despise small, steady returns from patient work — they genuinely add up over time into real security, more reliably than any shortcut.
"And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. "
"You'll have enough goats' milk to feed yourself, your household, and even your servant girls."
When you work diligently and manage well, think of it as provision for everyone under your care, not just yourself. Real generosity flows naturally out of good stewardship.