Proverbs 17
17
1Better a dry crust with peace
than a house full of feasting with strife.#Pr 15:17; 21:9,19; 25:24
2A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and share an inheritance among brothers.
3A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold,#Pr 27:21
and the Lord is the tester of hearts.#1Ch 29:17; Ps 26:2; Pr 16:2; 21:2; Is 48:10; Jr 17:10; Mal 3:3
4A wicked person listens to malicious talk;#17:4 Lit to lips of iniquity
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker,#Pr 14:31; 21:13
and one who rejoices over calamity
will not go unpunished.#Jb 31:29; Pr 24:17; Lm 1:21–22; Ezk 25:6–7; 35:15; Ob 12
6Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of children is their fathers.
7Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.
8A bribe#Ex 23:8; Is 1:23; Am 5:12 seems like a magic stone to its owner;
wherever he turns, he succeeds.#Pr 18:16; 19:6; 21:14
9Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,#Pr 10:12; Jms 5:20; 1Pt 4:8
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.#Lv 19:16; Pr 11:13; 16:28
10A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person
more than a hundred lashes into a fool.
11An evil person desires only rebellion;
a cruel messenger#17:11 Or a merciless angel#Ps 78:49 will be sent against him.
12Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs#2Sm 17:8; Hs 13:8
than a fool in his foolishness.
13If anyone returns evil for good,#Ps 35:12; 109:5
evil will never depart from his house.#2Sm 12:10
14To start a conflict is to release a flood;
stop the dispute before it breaks out.#Pr 20:3; 25:8
15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just#Ex 23:7; Pr 17:26; 18:5; 24:23–24; Is 5:23 —
both are detestable to the Lord.
16Why does a fool have money in his hand
with no intention of buying wisdom?#Pr 4:5,7; 18:15; 23:23
17A friend loves at all times,#Ru 1:16; Pr 18:24; 27:10
and a brother is born for a difficult time.
18One without sense enters an agreement#17:18 Lit sense slaps hands
and puts up security for his friend.#Pr 6:1–5; 11:15; 22:26
19One who loves to offend loves strife;#Pr 29:22
one who builds a high threshold invites injury.
20One with a twisted mind will not succeed,
and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.#Jr 23:36
21A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow;
the father of a fool has no joy.#Pr 10:1; 17:25; 19:13; 23:24–25
22A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.#Ps 22:15; Pr 14:30; 15:13; 18:14
23A wicked person secretly takes a bribe#Pr 17:8
to subvert the course of justice.#Dt 16:19; Ps 15:5; Pr 18:5; Mc 3:11; 7:3
24Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive,
but a fool’s eyes#Ec 2:14 roam to the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.#Pr 10:1; 17:21; 19:13
26It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.#17:26 Or noble unfairly#Pr 17:15; 18:5; 24:23–24
27The one who has knowledge restrains his words,#Pr 10:19; Jms 1:19; 3:2
and one who keeps a cool head#17:27 Lit spirit
is a person of understanding.
28Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent —
discerning, when he seals his lips.#Jb 13:5; Pr 10:19
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Proverbs 17: CSB
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