Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
Study note
The chapter opens with the humbling truth that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Let others praise you instead of praising yourself. A fool's anger is heavier than sand or stone.
1 Never assume you know what tomorrow will look like. You have no guarantee of what any single day will hold. Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let other people be the ones who praise you, not yourself. Let a stranger speak well of you, not your own lips. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 Hauling stone is heavy. Carrying sand is hard on the back. But a fool's fuss is heavier than both. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
4 Anger can be mean, and rage can hit you like a flood. But jealousy is the one thing nobody can stand up against. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
The Wounds of a Friend
Study note
Open correction is better than hidden love. The wounds of a friend can be trusted, while the kisses of an enemy are dangerous. A person who is full turns down even honey, but to a hungry person, even bitter food tastes sweet. Do not abandon your friends or your father's friends. A neighbor nearby is better than a relative far away.
5 Honest criticism spoken out loud is worth more than love that stays silent and hidden. Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 When a true friend corrects you, even if it stings, you can trust it. But when an enemy showers you with affection, watch out. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7 A person who has plenty will turn away even the sweetest food. But when you are truly hungry, even bitter food tastes good. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 A person who wanders away from where they belong is like a bird that has drifted far from its nest. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9 Just as perfume and incense lift your mood, a friend's heartfelt advice refreshes your soul. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
10 Hold on to your friends and the friends your father made. When trouble comes, do not rush off to a distant relative's house. A close neighbor is more helpful than a relative who lives far away. 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.
Iron Sharpens Iron
Study note
A wise child makes a parent happy. A sensible person sees danger and hides. A constant dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome person are alike. The famous verse 17, 'Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another,' teaches that true friendship involves honest challenge and mutual improvement. As water reflects a face, so a person's heart reflects who they really are.
11 Make wise choices, my child, and make my heart proud. That way I can stand tall when anyone questions how I raised you. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12 Someone with good judgment sees trouble approaching and takes cover. Someone without experience charges straight into it and regrets it. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
13 If someone is careless enough to promise to pay a stranger's debt, take their coat until they pay up. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14 Shouting cheerful greetings at your neighbor first thing in the morning will not be received as a blessing. They will think you are cursing them. He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A wife who constantly nags is like a faucet that will not stop dripping on a rainy day. A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16 Trying to get her to stop is like trying to catch the wind in your hands or hold onto a handful of oil. Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
17 Iron sharpens iron. In the same way, one person sharpens the character of another. Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 If you tend a fig tree faithfully, you will eat its fruit. If you serve your employer faithfully, you will be rewarded. Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19 Just as a pool of water shows you your own face, your heart reveals who you truly are. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
Care for What You Have
Study note
Human desire is never fully satisfied. Praise tests a person the way fire tests metal. The chapter ends with practical advice about caring for your flocks and fields, because wealth does not last forever. Hard work and good stewardship provide for you and your household.
20 The grave and the place of the dead are never full. In the same way, what people want is never fully satisfied. Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 A crucible tests silver and a furnace tests gold, but what truly tests a person is how they handle praise. As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
22 You could take a fool, put them in a bowl, and grind them like grain, and their foolishness still would not separate from them. Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Pay close attention to how your flocks and herds are doing. Stay on top of the condition of your business. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
24 Wealth does not last forever. Power does not pass on by itself from one generation to the next. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
25 Once the hay is cut and fresh green grass appears and the mountain vegetation is gathered, The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26 your lambs will give you clothing and your goats will provide enough value to purchase a field. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
27 There will be enough goat's milk to feed your household and keep your workers well-nourished. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.