Proverbs 17

¹ Better is a dry morsel with quietness
than a house full of feasting with strife.

² A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance among brothers.

³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.

⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

⁵ Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.

⁷ Eloquent speech is not fitting for a fool;
how much less are lying lips to a noble!

⁸ A bribe is a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.

⁹ Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.

¹¹ An evil man seeks only rebellion;
a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹² Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³ If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴ The start of strife is like releasing water;
abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

¹⁵ He who acquits the guilty and he who condemns the innocent
are both an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶ Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

¹⁸ One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹ Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
whoever makes his door high seeks destruction.

²⁰ A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

²¹ He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³ The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶ To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷ Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and one who is cool in spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸ Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.