Proverbs 27 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Proverbs 27

27:1   Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.
2   Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
3   A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4   Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?
5   Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
6   Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7   One who is full loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8   Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.
9   Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.¹
10   Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
    and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
  Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
11   Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
    that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12   The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
13   Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.²
14   Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
15   A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16   to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp³ oil in one’s right hand.
17   Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.⁴
18   Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master will be honored.
19   As in water face reflects face,
    so the heart of man reflects the man.
20   Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21   The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and a man is tested by his praise.
22   Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    yet his folly will not depart from him.
23   Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds,
24   for riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25   When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26   the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
27   There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

Footnotes

[1] 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
[2] 27:13 Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
[3] 27:16 Hebrew to meet with
[4] 27:17 Hebrew sharpens the face of another

Commentary

v1: See Matt 6.34; we have faith about today and tomorrow; we need not worry, nor boast about what we expect to happen, or what we hope to achieve.

v2: Avoid pride and self-exaltation, and false humility, but receive praise from others.

v3-4: Folly and jealousy are great burdens, considered greater than any physical burden.

v5-6: The wounds of a friend may be painful, but they will be profitable; Ps 141.5. There is therefore a benefit in an open rebuke from a loved one.

v7: The hungry soul has not been fed, and is perhaps used to not being fed. He will accept, and even enjoy, the bitter taste of error, even though it sounds attractive. He lacks understanding and discernment.

In contrast, the satisfied soul dislikes the superficial, and is happy with pure milk, and the meat of the word.

v8: Home is the place of belonging, and of faithfulness and safety. We should not depart from that place.

v9-10: The value of friendship.

v11: The blessing of a son full of wisdom.

v12: The wise man looks ahead, sees danger, and avoids it, see 22.3.

v13: See 20.16.

v14: Blessing is turned into cursing; good intentions and sincerity are not enough, we need true wisdom.

v15-16: The quarrelsome wife cannot be restrained; but rather than having violent outbursts, she is a constant irritation.

v17: The benefit of friendship, as one man sharpens his friend.

v18: Be faithful in all things; we will receive in return for our faithfulness.

v19: As a man thinks in his heart, so he is; the heart is the man.

v20: Death and Destruction are never full; there is always space for more people. A man's eyes can flit from view to view, always seeking fresh information and excitement. No wonder we read the warnings in 4.25-27.

v21: Our refining in the heat of hardship; we must respect what others say of us, although we are not to promote ourselves. We must recognise too that human opinion can be deceptive or misleading, and perfect understanding is from God, John 5.44.

v22: In contrast with v21, the fool will not learn.

v23-27: Concern for the flock demands diligence from leaders. The clear meaning is of the rural shepherd caring for his sheep. But the application to spiritual leadership is also inescapable. Christ is our example, see John 17.12, "I protected them and kept them safe...None has been lost." We are responsible for those entrusted to us. We must make real effort to gather food to feed the flock, and provide properly for them. There is a reward in return, see 1 Tim 4.16.