Proverbs 17

17 Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
Than a house full of feasting^[a] with strife.

² A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame,
And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

³ The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴ An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.

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

⁶ Children’s children are the crown of old men,
And the glory of children is their father.
⁷ Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,
Much less lying lips to a prince.

⁸ A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹ He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

¹⁰ Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool.

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

¹² Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³ Whoever rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶ Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,
Since he has no heart for it?

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

¹⁸ A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge,
And becomes surety for his friend.

¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife,
And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

²⁰ He who has a deceitful heart finds no good,
And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

²¹ He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A merry heart does good, like medicine,^[b]
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back^[c]
To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
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 Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

²⁷ He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

²⁸ Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.