Day 52 - Wounds from a friend can be trusted

1 Do not boast about tomorrow,

 for you do not know what a day may bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;

 an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,

 but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,

 but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke

 than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,

 but an enemy multiplies kisses.

7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,

 but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

8 Like a bird that flees its nest

 is anyone who flees from home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

 and the pleasantness of a friend

 springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,

 and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—

 better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;

 then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,

 but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

 hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,

 it will be taken as a curse.

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping

 of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;

1. What does this passage say about true friendship and correction?
2. How do trust and wisdom work together in relationships?
3. Which verse challenged your usual way of thinking or speaking?
4. Where might God be inviting you to listen to correction or offer it in love?
5. How do these proverbs reflect the character of Jesus?

Father, thank You for friends who speak truth in love. Help me receive correction humbly and offer it with kindness. Make me faithful in my words and my relationships. Amen.