Proverbs 17

Better a dry crust with quiet

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.a 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.b

⁴A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.c ⁵Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.d ⁶Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.e

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 offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.f

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.g 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.h

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.i ¹⁸One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

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.j 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.k

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.l

²⁸Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.m