Proverbs 17
17
1Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.
2A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
3The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
4A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;
whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.
6Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.
7Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool –
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
8A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;
they think success will come at every turn.
9Whoever would foster love covers over an offence,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
10A rebuke impresses a discerning person
more than a hundred lashes a fool.
11Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
the messenger of death will be sent against them.
12Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool bent on folly.
13Evil will never leave the house
of one who pays back evil for good.
14Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent –
the Lord detests them both.
16Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
when they are not able to understand it?
17A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
18One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
and puts up security for a neighbour.
19Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
20One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.
21To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.
22A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23The wicked accept bribes in secret
to pervert the course of justice.
24A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.
26If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,
surely to flog honest officials is not right.
27The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.
28Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.
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Proverbs 17: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Proverbs 17
17
1Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife.
2A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shall divide the inheritance among the brethren.
3As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts.
4The evil man obeyeth an unjust tongue: and the deceitful hearkeneth to lying lips.
5He that despiseth the poor, reproacheth his Maker; and he that rejoiceth at another man's ruin, shall not be unpunished.
6Children's children are the crown of old men: and the glory of children are their fathers.
7Eloquent words do not become a fool, nor lying lips a prince.
8The expectation of him that expecteth, is a most acceptable jewel: whithersoever he turneth himself, he understandeth wisely.
9He that concealeth a transgression, seeketh friendships: he that repeateth it again, separateth friends.
10A reproof availeth more with a wise man, than a hundred stripes with a fool.
11An evil man always seeketh quarrels: but a cruel angel shall be sent against him.
12It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool trusting in his own folly.
13He that rendereth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
14The beginning of quarrels is as when one letteth out water: before he suffereth reproach he forsaketh judgment.
15He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, both are abominable before God.
16What doth it avail a fool to have riches, seeing he cannot buy wisdom? He that maketh his house high, seeketh a downfall: and he that refuseth to learn, shall fall into evils.
17He that is a friend loveth at all times: and a brother is proved in distress.
18A foolish man will clap hands, when he is surety for his friend.
19He that studieth discords, loveth quarrels: and he that exalteth his door, seeketh ruin.
20He that is of a perverse heart, shall not find good: and he that perverteth his tongue, shall fall into evil.
21A fool is born to his own disgrace: and even his father shall not rejoice in a fool.
22A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones.
23The wicked man taketh gifts out of the bosom, that he may pervert the paths of judgment.
24Wisdom shineth in the face of the wise: the eyes of fools are in the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is the anger of the father: and the sorrow of the mother that bore him.
26It is no good thing to do hurt to the just: nor to strike the prince, who judgeth right.
27He that setteth bounds to his words is knowing and wise: and the man of understanding is of a precious spirit.
28Even a fool, if he will hold his peace shall be counted wise: and if he close his lips, a man of understanding.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.