Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
- BSB Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- NKJV Donot boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
- NASB Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring.
- NLT Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not boast about tomorrow, since you cannot know what it holds. Humility before an uncertain future is wisdom.
Overview
This proverb rebukes presumptuous confidence about the future, which belongs entirely to God. James draws on it to teach that we should say, 'If the Lord wills, we will do this' (Jas 4:13-15). It calls for humble dependence on God's providence rather than self-assured planning.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jas 4:13–16Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
- Luke 12:19–20And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
- 2 Cor 6:2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
- 1 Sam 28:19Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
- Isa 56:12Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
- Ps 95:7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 27:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.