Proverbs 17

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

² A slave who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

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

⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

⁵ He who mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

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

⁷ Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

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

⁹ He who forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter alienates a friend.

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 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 a man returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶ Why should a fool have a price in his hand to buy wisdom, when he has no mind?

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

¹⁸ A man without sense gives a pledge, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

²⁰ A man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.

²¹ A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ A man of understanding 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; to flog noble men is wrong.

²⁷ He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool 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.