Proverbs 17

¹Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

³The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and the Lord tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;

he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

⁷Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a prince.

⁸A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

⁹Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs

rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³If anyone returns evil for good,

evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

²⁰A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

²¹He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³The wicked accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father

and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.