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

1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.

2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.

3A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both.

4Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?

5An open rebuke is better than hidden love.

6The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.

7A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.

8Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place.

9Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul.

10Do not dismiss your friend or your father’s friend. And do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother.

11My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.

12The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.

13Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners.

14Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.

15A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.

16He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand.

17Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

18Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.

19In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent.

20Hell and perdition are never filled; similarly the eyes of men are insatiable.

21In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge.

22Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him.

23Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,

24for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.

25The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.

26Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.

27Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.