Proverbs 17

17^mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting¹ with strife.

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

and ^owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

^3pThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

^qand the Lord tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor ^rinsults his Maker;

he who is ^sglad at calamity will not go ^tunpunished.

^6uGrandchildren are ^vthe crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

⁷Fine speech is not ^wbecoming to a fool;

still less is ^xfalse speech to a prince.

^8yA bribe is like a magic² stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

⁹Whoever ^zcovers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter ^aseparates 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 ^ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.

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

^drather than a fool in his folly.

¹³If anyone ^ereturns evil for good,

^fevil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so ^gquit before the quarrel breaks out.

¹⁵He who ^hjustifies the wicked and he who ⁱcondemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

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

when he has no sense?

^17kA 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 ^lmakes his door high seeks destruction.

^20mA man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

²¹He who ⁿsires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

^22oA joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit ^pdries up the bones.

²³The wicked accepts ^qa bribe in secret³

to ^rpervert the ways of justice.

^24sThe discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

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

²⁵ⁿA foolish son is a grief to his father

^tand bitterness to ^uher who bore him.

^26vTo impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷Whoever ^wrestrains his words has knowledge,

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

²⁸Even a fool ^xwho keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.