Sermon Central
Proverbs 27-28
1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
2Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
3Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
5Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from home.
9Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.
10Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
12The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
14If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.
15A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.
17As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
18The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.
19As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
20Death and Destruction
21The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.
22Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.
23Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;
24for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. 27You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.
1The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
2When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
3A ruler
4Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked, but those who heed it resist them.
5Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.
6Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.
7A discerning son heeds instruction, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
8Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
9If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.
10Whoever leads the upright along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.
11The rich are wise in their own eyes; one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
12When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.
13Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
14Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
17Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back.
18The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
19Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
20A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
21To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
23Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
24Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys.
25The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.
26Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
27Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. 28When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.