Proverbs 17

¹Better a dry crust with peace

than a house full of feasting with strife. ^a

²A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son

and share an inheritance among brothers.

³A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold, ^b

and the Lord is the tester of hearts. ^c

⁴A wicked person listens to malicious talk; ^d

a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

⁵The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, ^e

and one who rejoices over calamity

will not go unpunished. ^f

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,

and the pride of children is their fathers.

⁷Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;

how much worse are lies for a ruler.

⁸A bribe ^g seems like a magic stone to its owner;

wherever he turns, he succeeds. ^h

⁹Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, ⁱ

but whoever gossips about it separates friends. ^j

¹⁰A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person

more than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹An evil person desires only rebellion;

a cruel messenger ^k,^l will be sent against him.

¹²Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs ^m

than a fool in his foolishness.

¹³If anyone returns evil for good, ⁿ

evil will never depart from his house. ^o

¹⁴To start a conflict is to release a flood;

stop the dispute before it breaks out. ^p

¹⁵Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just ^q —

both are detestable to the Lord.

¹⁶Why does a fool have money in his hand

with no intention of buying wisdom? ^r

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, ^s

and a brother is born for a difficult time.

¹⁸One without sense enters an agreement ^t

and puts up security for his friend. ^u

¹⁹One who loves to offend loves strife; ^v

one who builds a high threshold invites injury.

²⁰One with a twisted mind will not succeed,

and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin. ^w

²¹A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow;

the father of a fool has no joy. ^x

²²A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit dries up the bones. ^y

²³A wicked person secretly takes a bribe ^z

to subvert the course of justice. ^aa

²⁴Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive,

but a fool’s eyes ^ab roam to the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is grief to his father

and bitterness to the one who bore him. ^ac

²⁶It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person

or to beat a noble for his honesty. ^ad,^ae

²⁷The one who has knowledge restrains his words, ^af

and one who keeps a cool head ^ag

is a person of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent #—

discerning, when he seals his lips. ^ah