Don't Brag about Tomorrow
1 Don't brag about tomorrow!
Each day brings
its own surprises.
2 Don't brag about yourself—
let others praise you.
3 Stones and sand are heavy,
but trouble caused by a fool
is a much heavier load.
4 An angry person is dangerous,
but a jealous person
is even worse.
5 A truly good friend
will openly correct you.
6 You can trust a friend
who corrects you,
but kisses from an enemy
are nothing but lies.
7 If you have had enough to eat,
honey doesn't taste good,
but if you are really hungry,
you will eat anything.
8 When you are far from home,
you feel like a bird
without a nest.
9 The sweet smell of incense
can make you feel good,
but true friendship
is better still.
10 Don't desert an old friend
of your family
or visit your relatives
when you are in trouble.
A friend nearby is better
than relatives far away.
11 My child, show good sense!
Then I will be happy
and able to answer anyone
who criticizes me.
12 Be cautious and hide
when you see danger—
don't be stupid and walk
right into trouble.
13 You deserve to lose your coat
if you loan it to someone
to guarantee payment
for the debt of a stranger.
14 A loud greeting
early in the morning
is the same as a curse.
15 The steady dripping of rain
and the nagging of a wife
are one and the same.
16 It's easier to catch the wind
or hold olive oil in your hand
than to stop a nagging wife.
17 Just as iron sharpens iron,
friends sharpen the minds
of each other.
18 Take care of a tree,
and you will eat its fruit;
look after your master,
and you will be praised.
19 You see your face in a mirror
and your thoughts
in the minds of others.
20 Death and the grave
are never satisfied,
and neither are humans.
21 Gold and silver are tested
in a red-hot furnace,
but we are tested by praise.
22 No matter how hard
you beat a fool,
you can't pound out
the foolishness.
23 You should take good care
of your sheep and goats,
24 because wealth and honor
don't last forever.
25 After the hay is cut
and the new growth appears
and the harvest is over,
26 you can sell lambs and goats
to buy clothes and land.
27 From the milk of the goats,
you can make enough cheese
to feed your family
and all your servants.
1 Boast not thy selfe of to morowe: for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 2 Let another man prayse thee, and not thine owne mouth: a stranger, and not thine owne lips. 3 A stone is heauie, and the sand weightie: but a fooles wrath is heauier then them both. 4 Anger is cruell, and wrath is raging: but who can stand before enuie? 5 Open rebuke is better then secret loue. 6 The wounds of a louer are faithful, and the kisses of an enemie are pleasant. 7 The person that is full, despiseth an hony combe: but vnto the hungry soule euery bitter thing is sweete. 8 As a bird that wandreth from her nest, so is a man that wandreth from his owne place. 9 As oyntment and perfume reioyce the heart, so doeth the sweetenes of a mans friend by hearty counsell. 10 Thine owne friend and thy fathers friend forsake thou not: neither enter into thy brothers house in the day of thy calamitie: for better is a neighbour that is neere, then a brother farre off. 11 My sonne, be wise, and reioyce mine heart, that I may answere him that reprocheth me. 12 A prudent man seeth the plague, and hideth himselfe: but the foolish goe on still, and are punished. 13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and a pledge of him for the stranger. 14 He that prayseth his friend with a loude voyce, rising earely in the morning, it shall be counted to him as a curse. 15 A continual dropping in the day of raine, and a contentious woman are alike. 16 He that hideth her, hideth the winde, and she is as ye oyle in his right hand, that vttereth it selfe. 17 Yron sharpeneth yron, so doeth man sharpen the face of his friend. 18 He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eate the fruite thereof: so he that waiteth vpon his master, shall come to honour. 19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. 20 The graue and destruction can neuer be full, so the eyes of man can neuer be satisfied. 21 As is the fining pot for siluer and the fornace for golde, so is euery man according to his dignitie. 22 Though thou shouldest bray a foole in a morter among wheate brayed with a pestell, yet will not his foolishnes depart from him. 23 Be diligent to know ye state of thy flocke, and take heede to the heardes. 24 For riches remaine not alway, nor the crowne from generation to generation. 25 The hey discouereth it selfe, and the grasse appeareth, and the herbes of the mountaines are gathered. 26 The lambes are for thy clothing, and the goates are the price of the fielde. 27 And let the milke of the goates be sufficient for thy foode, for the foode of thy familie, and for the sustenance of thy maydes.