Proverbs 27:13-27

Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s loan, and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes. If you loudly greet your neighbor early in the morning, he will think of it as a curse. A quarreling wife is as bothersome as a continual dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her is like stopping the wind or trying to grab oil in your hand. As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other. Whoever tends a fig tree gets to eat its fruit, and whoever takes care of his master will receive honor. As water reflects your face, so your mind shows what kind of person you are. People will never stop dying and being destroyed, and they will never stop wanting more than they have. A hot furnace tests silver and gold, and people are tested by the praise they receive. Even if you ground up a foolish person like grain in a bowl, you couldn’t remove the foolishness. Be sure you know how your sheep are doing, and pay attention to the condition of your cattle. Riches will not go on forever, nor do governments go on forever. Bring in the hay, and let the new grass appear. Gather the grass from the hills. Make clothes from the lambs’ wool, and sell some goats to buy a field. There will be plenty of goat’s milk to feed you and your family and to make your servant girls healthy.