Focus: Verse # 1
King James Bible
Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
New International Version
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
New Living Translation
Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.
STUDY NOTES
Every day brings clarity I don't understand.
Never count your chickens before they hatch. Tomorrow is not part of God's promise. The here and the now are. So what should I do with my time? Proverbs is the manual of the human condition. As I read through chapter 27, I just started to cry, because every single line hit home. So I am going to take them, in order, and apply them to myself.
- Whenever I get cocky, my aspirations fail. Whenever I remain humble, I am surprised with success.
- Stop hoping people like me because of what I show them. Hope they will like me for what I don't show them.
- Seek God instead of watching the news.
- When the actions of others, or even my own, lead me to anger, what do I gain? Nothing. I do not know jealousy, so I can't apply it to myself.
- I often do not say what I want to say to others because I am afraid of what they may think of me. My own fear leads to my own loss.
- The wounds of a friend.... It has never been the rebuke of love that has led me down the wrong path, it has always been the aches I soothed with drugs.
- I am at peace with a simple life, and I have no dreams of acquiring tokens of earthly success. Money has no draw. Labels seem silly. I am filled with satisfaction by the color of the leaves on the trees, and I do not covet anything more than gaining and applying knowledge.
- When I don't have to worry about surviving because I am in a place that I know, I can focus on the things that matter, beyond feeling safe. Something new, is not something better in and of itself.
- Life has two goals: find peace then find joy. Once I am comfortable with who I am and what I am intended for, then I can fully appreciate the joy of friendship, because only then can I enter into friendship genuinely.
- Friendship, when leaned on, must be near and within reach. It must also be based on truth, and not given through obligation. I need a shoulder to lean on, not a text message, if I am to manage my falls.
I think the point is made. The wisdom of this chapter is infallible, because there is no one alive to whom it does not apply. Yet it was written thousands of years ago.
Version Study & Takeaway
I don't see any translation problems with this scripture. It would seem that this wisdom can not be diluted by corporate influence, it is to true to be second guessed.
I ignored this wisdom most all of my life. Now I sit here, alone. God as my judge, Jesus as my mentor. Alone with my thoughts and regrets, working day by day to mold the two into a peace that can only be found in the logic of the Bible's wisdom.
--BSB
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
27 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
5 Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7 The soul that is full loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.
10 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 a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, so that I can answer him who taunts me.
12 The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13 Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.
14 If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.
15 A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
16 restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the true man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;
24 for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.
25 When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your household and nourishment for your maidservants.