17 mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting1 with strife.

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

and owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

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

qand the Lord tests hearts.

4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

5  Whoever mocks the poor rinsults his Maker;

he who is sglad at calamity will not go tunpunished.

6  uGrandchildren are vthe crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7  Fine speech is not wbecoming to a fool;

still less is xfalse speech to a prince.

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

wherever he turns he prospers.

9  Whoever zcovers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter aseparates 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,

and ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.

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

drather than a fool in his folly.

13  If anyone ereturns evil for good,

fevil will not depart from his house.

14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so gquit before the quarrel breaks out.

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

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

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

when he has no sense?

17  kA friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for 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;

he who lmakes his door high seeks destruction.

20  mA man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21  He who nsires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22  oA joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit pdries up the bones.

23  The wicked accepts qa bribe in secret3

to rpervert the ways of justice.

24  sThe discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

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

25  nA foolish son is a grief to his father

tand bitterness to uher who bore him.

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

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27  Whoever wrestrains his words has knowledge,

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

28  Even a fool xwho keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.