| 1 | Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting [on offered sacrifices] with strife. |
| 2 | A wise servant shall have rule over a son who causes shame, and shall share in the inheritance among the brothers. |
| 3 | The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tries the hearts. |
| 4 | An evildoer gives heed to wicked lips; and a liar listens to a mischievous tongue. |
| 5 | Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he who is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent
or
go unpunished. |
| 6 | Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers. |
| 7 | Fine
or
arrogant speech does not befit [an empty-headed] fool—much less do lying lips befit a prince. |
| 8 | A bribe is like a bright, precious stone that dazzles the eyes
and
affects the mind of him who gives it; [as if by magic] he prospers, whichever way he turns. |
| 9 | He who covers
and
forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats
or
harps on a matter separates even close friends. |
| 10 | A reproof enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes into a [self-confident] fool. |
| 11 | An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a stern
and
pitiless messenger shall be sent against him. |
| 12 | Let [the brute ferocity of] a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man rather than a [self-confident] fool in his folly [when he is in a rage]. |
| 13 | Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. |
| 14 | The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse
and
quarreling breaks out. |
| 15 | He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both an abomination [exceedingly disgusting and hateful] to the Lord. |
| 16 | Of what use is money in the hand of a [self-confident] fool to buy skillful
and
godly Wisdom—when he has no understanding
or
heart for it? |
| 17 | A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity. |
| 18 | A man void of good sense gives a pledge and becomes security for another in the presence of his neighbor. |
| 19 | He who loves strife
and
is quarrelsome loves transgression
and
involves himself in guilt; he who raises high his gateway
and
is boastful
and
arrogant invites destruction. |
| 20 | He who has a wayward
and
crooked mind finds no good, and he who has a willful
and
contrary tongue will fall into calamity. |
| 21 | He who becomes the parent of a [self-confident] fool does it to his sorrow, and the father of [an empty-headed] fool has no joy [in him]. |
| 22 | A happy heart is good medicine
and
a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. |
| 23 | A wicked man receives a bribe out of the bosom (pocket) to pervert the ways of justice. |
| 24 | A man of understanding sets skillful
and
godly Wisdom before his face, but the eyes of a [self-confident] fool are on the ends of the earth. |
| 25 | A self-confident
and
foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. |
| 26 | Also, to punish
or
fine the righteous is not good, nor to smite the noble for their uprightness. |
| 27 | He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding has a cool spirit. |
| 28 | Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding. |
Cross references:
-
Proverbs 17:3 : Ps. 26:2; Prov. 27:21; Jer. 17:10; Mal. 3:3.
-
Proverbs 17:5 : Job 31:29; Prov. 14:31; Obad. 12.
-
Proverbs 17:6 : Ps. 127:3; 128:3.
-
Proverbs 17:10 : Isa. 32:6.
-
Proverbs 17:12 : Hos. 13:8.
-
Proverbs 17:13 : Ps. 109:4, 5; Jer. 18:20.
-
Proverbs 17:15 : Exod. 23:7; Prov. 24:24; Isa. 5:23.
-
Proverbs 17:20 : James 3:8.
-
Proverbs 17:22 : Prov. 12:25; 15:13, 15.
-
Proverbs 17:27 : James 1:19.
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