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. |