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1Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—

a stranger, and not your own lips.

3A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who is able to stand before jealousy?

5Better is open rebuke

than hidden love.

6Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,

but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7The sated appetite spurns honey,

but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.

8Like a bird that strays from its nest

is one who strays from home.

9Perfume and incense make the heart glad,

but the soul is torn by trouble.

10Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;

do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of your calamity.

Better is a neighbor who is nearby

than kindred who are far away.

11Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,

so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.

12The clever see danger and hide;

but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

13Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;

seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.

14Whoever blesses a neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

15A continual dripping on a rainy day

and a contentious wife are alike;

16to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp oil in the right hand.

17Iron sharpens iron,

and one person sharpens the wits of another.

18Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored.

19Just as water reflects the face,

so one human heart reflects another.

20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

and human eyes are never satisfied.

21The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

so a person is tested by being praised.

22Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle

along with crushed grain,

but the folly will not be driven out.

23Know well the condition of your flocks,

and give attention to your herds;

24for riches do not last forever,

nor a crown for all generations.

25When the grass is gone, and new growth appears,

and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,

26the lambs will provide your clothing,

and the goats the price of a field;

27there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,

for the food of your household

and nourishment for your servant-girls.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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