Iron Sharpens Iron, Proverb 27

Proverbs 27:1-2, 4-6, 9-14, 17-20, 22-24 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy? Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel. Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him who reproaches me. A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished. Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger, And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress. He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him. As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored. As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied. Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds; For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations.