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.