Proverbs · chapter 27 of 31
Updated on
Proverbs 27 speaks about relationships and everyday prudence: do not boast about tomorrow, accept a friend's rebuke, value a near neighbor more than a distant brother and remember that iron sharpens iron. It ends with counsel for those who tend flocks: know the condition of your sheep well, because riches do not last forever.
Proverbs 27 continues the collection copied by the men of Hezekiah and moves away from the tone of the portraits of chapter 26. Here sayings about relationships predominate, such as friendship, the neighbor, the wife and the son, mixed with observations on pride, desire and farm work.
The chapter begins with a warning: do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring (v. 1). Let another praise you, not your own mouth (v. 2). A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both (v. 3). Wrath is cruel and anger overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? (v. 4). Better is open rebuke than hidden love, and faithful are the wounds of a friend, while the kisses of an enemy are profuse (vv. 5-6).
The following sayings deal with home and friendship. Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend is in his earnest counsel (v. 9). Do not forsake your friend or 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 (v. 10). The prudent sees danger and hides (v. 12). A quarrelsome wife is like a continual dripping on a rainy day (vv. 15-16). Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (v. 17). Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever serves his master will be honored (v. 18). As water reflects the face, so the heart of man reflects the man (v. 19). Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man (v. 20).
The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a person is tested by the praise he receives (v. 21). Though you crush a fool in a mortar, his folly will not depart from him (v. 22). The chapter ends with advice for the shepherd: know well the condition of your flocks and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever, nor a crown for all generations (vv. 23-24). The lambs will provide your clothing and the goats the price of a field, and there will be goats' milk enough for you and your household (vv. 26-27).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Plans are good, but the future belongs to God, and the verse encourages humility in speaking of what is to come, as James does too.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, while the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. A true friend dares to say what hurts, while constant flattery can hide other interests.
Do not forsake your friend or your father's friend; better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. Relationships are sustained by presence, and the church can be that nearby neighbor.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Dealing with others, even when it is uncomfortable, helps us improve, and it is a picture of friendship and discipleship.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Tomorrow, because we do not know what a day may bring. — Proverbs 27:1
Answer: The wounds of a friend are faithful, and the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. — Proverbs 27:6
Answer: A neighbor who is near. — Proverbs 27:10
Answer: Other iron, just as one man sharpens another. — Proverbs 27:17
Answer: Sheol and Abaddon. — Proverbs 27:20
Answer: The condition of his flocks, and he must give attention to his herds. — Proverbs 27:23
Proverbs 27 invites us to cultivate friendships that tell the truth in love. In a small group you can ask who has permission to tell us something that hurts, and to whom we have said it with care. It also encourages us to be the near neighbor of someone in need, instead of waiting for those far away to do it.
The closing counsel is for everyone: know well what has been entrusted to us, whether children, students, a class or a church. Paying close attention to the condition of the sheep is a form of shepherding God values.
Proverbs 27 gathers wisdom for relationships and for caring for what God entrusts. Chapter 28 goes on with the contrast between the righteous and the wicked, the confession that finds mercy and the danger of greed.
As the friction of two irons sharpens an edge, dealing with other people, with their advice and even their disagreements, makes us sharper and more mature. The proverb applies to friendship, discipleship and shared Bible study; it does not promise that all friction is good, only that community shapes us.
The saying says that whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse. The idea is that badly timed courtesy becomes a nuisance. It teaches us to be careful with the time and manner of showing affection.