Proverbs 17
17
1Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.
2A slave who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tries hearts.
4An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
5He who mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of sons is their fathers.
7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of him who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9He who forgives an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter alienates a friend.
10A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs,
rather than a fool in his folly.
13If a man returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14The beginning of strife is like letting out water;
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16Why should a fool have a price in his hand to buy wisdom,
when he has no mind?
17A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18A man without sense gives a pledge,
and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.
19He who loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20A man of crooked mind does not prosper,
and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.
21A stupid son is a grief to a father;
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
23A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom
to pervert the ways of justice.
24A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good;
to flog noble men is wrong.
27He who restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
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Proverbs 17: RSV
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America