17:1 BETTER IS a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting [on offered sacrifices] with strife. |
17:2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son who causes shame, and shall share in the inheritance among the brothers. |
17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tries the hearts. |
17:4 An evildoer gives heed to wicked lips; and a liar listens to a mischievous tongue. |
17:5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he who is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent {or} go unpunished. |
17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers. |
17:7 Fine {or} arrogant speech does not befit [an empty-headed] fool--much less do lying lips befit a prince. |
17:8 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. |
17:9 He who covers {and} forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats {or} harps on a matter separates even close friends. |
17:10 A reproof enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes into a [self-confident] fool. |
17:11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a stern {and} pitiless messenger shall be sent against him. |
17:12 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]. |
17:13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. |
17:14 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. |
17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both an abomination [exceedingly disgusting and hateful] to the Lord. |
17:16 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? |
17:17 A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity. |
17:18 A man void of good sense gives a pledge and becomes security for another in the presence of his neighbor. |
17:19 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. |
17:20 He who has a wayward {and} crooked mind finds no good, and he who has a willful {and} contrary tongue will fall into calamity. |
17:21 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]. |
17:22 A happy heart is good medicine {and} a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. |
17:23 A wicked man receives a bribe out of the bosom (pocket) to pervert the ways of justice. |
17:24 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. |
17:25 A self-confident {and} foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. |
17:26 Also, to punish {or} fine the righteous is not good, nor to smite the noble for their uprightness. |
17:27 He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding has a cool spirit. |
17:28 Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding. |