Proverbs17

¹Better 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 .

³The 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 unpunished .

⁶Grandchildren 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 .

⁸A 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 ?

¹⁷A 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 .

²⁰A 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 .

²²A 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 .

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

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

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

²⁷restrains 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 .