17 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.(A)
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.(B)
6 Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers.(C)
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.(D)
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].(E)
13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.(F)
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.(G)
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.(H)
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.(I)
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.(J)
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.