Proverbs 17

1Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

2A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

3The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

4A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

7Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

9Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

13Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.

14Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both.

16Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?

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

18One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

19Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

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

23The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.

24A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

26If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right.

27The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. 28Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.