Proverbs 17

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

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

³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

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

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.

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

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

⁹Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

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

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

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

¹³If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.

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

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

¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?

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

¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

²⁰ A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

²¹He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

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

²⁶ To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

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

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

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