Proverbs 17

17Better is ^aa dry morsel with quietness,

Than a house full of ¹feasting with strife.

²A wise servant will rule over ^ba son who causes shame,

And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

^cBut the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer gives heed to false lips;

A liar listens eagerly to a ²spiteful tongue.

^5dHe who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;

^eHe who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

^6fChildren’s children are the crown of old men,

And the glory of children is their father.

⁷Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,

Much less lying lips to a prince.

⁸A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor;

Wherever he turns, he prospers.

^9gHe who covers a transgression seeks love,

But ^hhe who repeats a matter separates friends.

¹⁰ⁱRebuke is more effective for a wise man

Than a hundred blows on a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion;

Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet ^ja bear robbed of her cubs,

Rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever ^krewards evil for good,

Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like releasing water;

Therefore ^lstop contention before a quarrel starts.

^15mHe who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,

Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,

Since he has no heart for it?

¹⁷ⁿA friend loves at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.

^18oA man devoid of ³understanding ⁴shakes hands in a pledge,

And becomes ⁵surety for his friend.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife,

And ^phe who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

²⁰He who has a ⁶deceitful heart finds no good,

And he who has ^qa perverse tongue falls into evil.

²¹He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,

And the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A ^rmerry heart ⁷does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones.

²³A wicked man accepts a bribe ⁸behind the back

To pervert the ways of justice.

^24sWisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,

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

²⁵A ^tfoolish son is a grief to his father,

And bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also, to punish the righteous is not good,

Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

^27uHe who has knowledge spares his words,

And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

^28vEven a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;

When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.