Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
(James 4:13–17)

1Do not boast about tomorrow

for, you do not know what a day will bring forth.

2Let a stranger praise you, and not your own mouth—

a foreigner, and not your own lips.

3The heaviness of a stone and the weight of the sand—

and the anger of a fool is heavier than both of them.

4The cruelty of rage and the flood of a nostril—

and who can stand before the face of jealousy?

5Better is an uncovered rebuke

than love hidden.

6Faithful are the wounds of one who loves,

and abundant are the kisses of one hating.

7A soul satiated would trample a honeycomb,

and to a hungry soul, everything bitter is sweet.

8Like a bird wandering from her nest,

so is a man wandering from his place.

9Oil and incense gladden the heart,

and the sweetness of one’s friend is from the counsel of the soul.

10Do not forsake your friend, and the friend of your father,

and do not enter the house of your brother

in the day of your calamity;

better a neighbor nearby

than a brother far away.

11Be wise, my son, and gladden my heart,

that I may return a word to the one reproaching me.

12A prudent one sees evil coming; he hides himself;

simple ones pass along, and they are punished.

13Take his garment when a stranger posts security,

and hold it in pledge for a foreign woman.†

14The one blessing his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,

it will be counted as a curse for him.

15A continual dripping in a day of rain,

and a woman of quarrels are alike—

16hiding her is hiding the wind

or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

17Iron is sharpened by iron,

and a man sharpens the face of his friend.

18One keeping watch over a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and the one guarding his master will be honored.

19As in the water the face is to the face,

so the heart of the man is to the man.

20Sheol and Abaddon† are never satisfied,

and the eyes of the man are never satisfied.

21A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

so is a man by the mouth of one who praises him.

22Though you may pound a fool in the mortar, in the midst of the grain with the pestle,

his folly will not turn away from him.

23Be sure to know the faces of your flock,

and set your heart to your herds,

24for riches are not forever,

nor is a diadem for all generations.

25The hay is uncovered, and the tender grass is visible,

and the herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26The lambs are for your clothing,

and the goats the price of field,

27and enough milk of goats is for your foor,

for the food of your house and the life of your maidservants.