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Two plain iron blades lying side by side on a smith’s stone bench in a doorway, their edges bright, a little iron dust on the stone.

Hezekiah’s collection

Proverbs 27

Who in your life loves you enough to tell you the truth?

27 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1–7The father's talksWhy the book exists, then a father to his son
  2. 8–9Wisdom callsHer house and Folly's
  3. 10–22:16Solomon's sayingsTwo lines at a time
  4. 22:17–24The sayings of the wiseThirty sayings, and a few more
  5. 25–29Hezekiah's collectionMore of Solomon, copied out laterChapter 27
  6. 30AgurNumbered sayings from a weary man
  7. 31LemuelA mother's words, and the noble wife

Do Not Boast about Tomorrow

Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

Sayings

Praise and rebuke

  1. Pride

    Let another praise you

    Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—

    a stranger, and not your own lips.

  2. Wisdom

    Heavier than stone and sand

    A stone is heavy and sand is a burden,

    but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

  3. Anger

    Who can withstand jealousy?

    Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood,

    but who can withstand jealousy?

  4. Friends

    Better an open rebuke

    Better an open rebuke

    than love that is concealed.

The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

The soul that is full loathes honey,

but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.

One small brown bird on the corner of a flat clay housetop in the gray before dawn, the village dark below.

Like a bird that strays from its nest

is a man who wanders from his home.

At evening one neighbor hands a covered bowl and a small clay oil jar across a low courtyard wall to another.

Oil and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.

Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend,

and do not go to your brother’s house

in the day of your calamity;

better a neighbor nearby

than a brother far away.

0:16

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Reflect

Take it home

Name one friend who has told you a hard truth. What did it cost them?

Sayings

Wise in the small things

  1. Family

    Bring joy to my heart

    Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,

    so that I can answer him who taunts me.

  2. Wisdom

    See danger, take cover

    The prudent see danger and take cover,

    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

  3. Money

    Take the garment

    Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger;

    get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

  4. Friends

    A loud blessing at dawn

    If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,

    it will be counted to him as a curse.

A small clay juglet tipped on its side on a stone press floor, golden olive oil running away from it across the stone.

A constant dripping on a rainy day

and a contentious woman are alike—

restraining her is like holding back the wind

or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

As iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens another.

A fig tree heavy with ripe figs beside a grapevine on an old stone terrace wall, olive trees beyond.

Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who looks after his master will be honored.

As water reflects the face,

so the heart reflects the true man.

Question

Quick question

Back to the water in verse 19.

What does verse 19 say water does?

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;

so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

A goldsmith’s small clay crucible glowing white-hot in a little charcoal furnace, molten gold shining inside.

A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

Pray

Say it to Him

LORD, give me friends who will tell me the truth, and make me brave enough to hear it. Give me the courage to be that kind of friend. Keep me faithful with what You have put in my care.

You’ve experienced

Proverbs 27

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A verse to carry with you

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

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