57 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 27
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1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
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since you don’t know what the day will bring.
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2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
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a stranger, not your own lips.
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3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
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but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
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4 Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
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but jealousy is even more dangerous.
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5 An open rebuke
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is better than hidden love!
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6 Wounds from a sincere friend
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are better than many kisses from an enemy.
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7 A person who is full refuses honey,
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but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
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8 A person who strays from home
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is like a bird that strays from its nest.
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9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend
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is as sweet as perfume and incense.
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10 Never abandon a friend—
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either yours or your father’s.
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When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
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It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
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11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad.
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Then I will be able to answer my critics.
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12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
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The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
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13 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
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Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.
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14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
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will be taken as a curse!
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15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
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as constant dripping on a rainy day.
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16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
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or trying to hold something with greased hands.
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17 As iron sharpens iron,
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so a friend sharpens a friend.
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18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
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so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
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19 As a face is reflected in water,
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so the heart reflects the real person.
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20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
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so human desire is never satisfied.
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21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
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but a person is tested by being praised.
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22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
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even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.
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23 Know the state of your flocks,
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and put your heart into caring for your herds,
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24 for riches don’t last forever,
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and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
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25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
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and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
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26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
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and your goats will provide the price of a field.
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27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
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your family, and your servant girls. |