17:1  Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

17:2  A slave who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

17:3  The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tries hearts.

17:4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

17:5  He who mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

17:6  Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of sons is their fathers.

17:7  Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

17:8  A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

17:9  He who forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter alienates a friend.

17:10  A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

17:11  An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

17:12  Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.

17:13  If a man returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

17:14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

17:15  He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

17:16  Why should a fool have a price in his hand to buy wisdom, when he has no mind?

17:17  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

17:18  A man without sense gives a pledge, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.

17:19  He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

17:20  A man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.

17:21  A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy.

17:22  A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.

17:23  A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.

17:24  A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

17:25  A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

17:26  To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good; to flog noble men is wrong.

17:27  He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

17:28  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.